Ab Aeterno
by Silent Dagger
Summary: Four years have passed since the Kira Case. Light Yagami is bored once again until he gets a call from Watari telling him L is in critical condition and that they need help to catch a killer. And what are these memories Light keeps having? BBXL LightXL
1. Prologue: The New Case

**Ab Aeterno**

**Silent Dagger: **Hooray for new idea for a Death Note story (don't worry, I'm still working away at **In Paridisum**)! OK, so on the matter of the Kira case being closed. I won't go into much detail now because it will show up at some point in the story, however, just know that something went wrong with Light's plan and he never got hold of the Death Note again, so he never remembered that he was Kira and thus Higuchi was arrested as Kira and was not killed so he was convicted. So yeah, Light stayed innocent as did Misa. Which means that Light's Death Note is still buried out there in the forest mwahahaha.

**Prologue: The New Case**

Four years had passed since the Kira case. Light Yagami was now able to focus on his classes again as well as help out the others at the Japanese Police when they got a case that was too severe for them alone. He was sitting in an English class and he couldn't help but think about the Kira case again. Normally he tried to forget about it, but for now his mind was drawn to it. Kyosuke Higuchi, the man had pretended that he was going to lead the people to a new world when secretly he had just been using the deaths to benefit himself. He had even gone so far as to make Light appear suspicious so that the investigation would focus on him when he had been innocent! Light would never do something like that…it was true that he did believe the world was better off with some people dying, but he would never be able to judge them like that…

He sighed to himself. Higuchi had been caught and the Kira killings had stopped. He had celebrated with the rest that this murderer had been brought down. And then, everything sort of became normal again. Ryuuzaki left Japan with Watari and he hadn't heard from them once, the investigation team became the head of the Japanese Police and Light was free to come and go as he pleased. To be honest…things had gotten boring ever since the Kira case was over.

It wasn't that Light enjoyed the fact that all those people were dying, no of course not. But it had been the first time in his life he had ever been challenged. Not to mention it was the first time in his life he got to spend time with someone as intelligent as himself. Now he was back with the daily masses, and no one understood him. Not that he missed Ryuuzaki…the man was irritating to no ends and had tried to prove that Light had been Kira until the end. Unless Light was mistaken, Ryuuzaki had appeared…almost disappointed that it had ended with Higuchi. Light stood up as the class ended and shook his head. Whatever the detective wanted to think, the fact remained that he, Light, was not Kira.

Since he had no more lectures for the day, Light planned to just return home and relax. There were no big cases to be solved at the present time so he really had no need to go to the police station. He sighed to himself as he headed home. Whenever he was alone like this, left alone in his thoughts, he seemed to remember wisps of a far off life. Of being followed by something dark, of having a secret, but he could not remember what and he passed it off as fleeting dreams that would never make themselves known to him.

Oh well, there was not much use in trying to force himself to remember a dream, no matter how important the dream may seem. He reached his house and walked through the door. The light on his phone was flashing, meaning that he had messages. He frowned; he bet every single one was from Misa. The woman still wouldn't leave him alone no matter how many hints he dropped. However, he could never bring himself to just reject her entirely. They were friends after all…

He picked up the phone and dialed his voice mail.

_"LIGHT!!!"_ Yep, he had been right, Misa had struck again. He held the phone away from his ear as the message continued. _"Misa-Misa has a photo shoot tonight at seven and she was wondering if she could meet with Light afterwards? Give Misa a call when you get this!!"_

Light frowned at the phone. The last thing he wanted was to hang around with Misa after a photo shoot. If things didn't go well during it, Misa would be in a horrible mood and Light would have to put up with her bitter remarks for an entire evening…and if it went really well, he would have to listen to every single detail about the shoot. No, he was in no mood to do that.

The next message started to play.

_"Hey Light, it's Sayu! I never see you anymore! Just because you're old enough to live on your own doesn't mean you have to shun your family! I'm just kidding, I know you're super busy, but try to make time to see your sister soon! Love you!"_

Light couldn't help but smile as Sayu's message ended. She was still a sweet girl, he'd have to find time to take her out for lunch or something. He figured the next message would be Misa again, asking him if he had gotten her original message about hanging out and he held the phone out again, expecting another shout of his name through the phone.

However, it was not Misa…it wasn't even his father which had been his second guess. No, it was a familiar voice, a voice that he had not heard for four years.

_"Light-kun, this is Watari…I need you to call me back as soon as possible…listen closely, there is a complicated password in order to get through to my current phone…"_

Light focused in and listened as Watari listed off a long set of numbers. As soon as he was done, Light dialed. What was this about? Watari had not contacted him once and his voice sounded rather grave. Did something bad happen? Or maybe there was a hard case and Watari was just asking Light to help out? Well, he was sure he would find out soon.

_"Yes?"_

"Watari, it's Light Yagami," Light said.

_"Ahh, thank you for getting back to me so quickly, Light-kun,"_ Watari replied. He paused and Light wanted to prompt him to continue as he was starting to feel slightly anxious about what he was about to be told. _"I know this is very short notice…Light-kun, but do you think you could come to England to help on a case?"_

Light's eyes widened. England? Well…that was unexpected to say the least.

"What's the case, Watari?" he asked.

_"It involves a very dangerous murderer, however I am sure Ryuuzaki would like to explain the situation in more detail when you get here…"_

"All right," Light said, slightly taken aback. "Where should I meet with you?" he asked.

_"Winchester Hospital,"_ Watari said heavily.

"Why the hospital? Is a patient there a survivor from the murderer's attack?" Light asked.

_"…Light-kun…the patient is Ryuuzaki."_


	2. Critical Condition

**Ab Aeterno**

**Silent Dagger:** Yes, I know that prologue was incredibly short and I apologize, but it really was just an introduction. Now the real story begins!

**UnknownZero:** hooray, glad you think it started out well! Voila! Ze update!

**Chibi-eru:** yay for chasing both stories thanks for the review!

**UNpReDiCtAbLE lIfE: **Here you go! Another update in one night! Woot woot!

**Nusku:** God…I need to stop being mean to L in my stories…but he's just so easy to pick on o.0

**Thien:** You're welcome!! I can tell you that there will probably be a lot of BB/L in this story and I know what you mean…even though he's psychotic, Beyond is just such a cool character!

**Yuki K. Li:** I have continued!! Lol

Thanks for all the reviews guys! It's you who's going to keep this one going!!

**Chapter One: Critical Condition**

_The patient is Ryuuzaki…_

These words kept echoing around in his head as Watari filled him in on the details of his flight. Light wasn't sure why he had immediately agreed to help with the case after hearing that Ryuuzaki had been hospitalized, but he had and Watari had told him that a flight had been paid for and that he had to get to the airport tomorrow by three in the afternoon. He dully noted which terminal his plane was leaving from and hardly cared what time he got to England.

_"I thank you for agreeing to help, Light-kun,"_ Watari said.

"It really is no problem," Light replied. He felt like he was in a daze. For one he never expected to hear that someone like L would be in the hospital…unless it was from a mass overdose of sugar…and Watari had sounded worried. Usually the elderly man could control his emotions. Not as well as L, but you had to give credit where credit was due and the fact that his voice had sounded so heavy had Light worried.

Watari thanked him again and hung up. Light set the phone down in its place and just stood there for a moment, staring at it. _The patient is Ryuuzaki…_Why was he so worried? If L was calling him over to England it most likely meant that the man was still hell bent on solving this case and that as soon as Light got there they'd start working. Light frowned, oh yes, he could just see himself running through long white corridors, skidding to a halt outside the detective's room and barging through to see the man sitting up in his usual position with a report held daintily between his fingers.

But…Watari's voice…

He had sounded worried. Was Ryuuzaki in a bad state? And if so…how bad? Who was this murderer to have gotten to L? Light was pretty sure that even if the detective had wandered outside for once, he wouldn't exactly be the most approachable person. So then either the murderer struck on lucky chance…or he had known L's identity. Light crinkled his nose. Who knew L's identity? From what he understood, L never showed his face even if he was working on a case. It had just been special circumstances that had allowed the Japanese investigation to see him in the first place, the only way Ryuuzaki could gain their trust and make his attack against Light.

Light picked up the phone again. Well, one thing was for certain, he was definitely going and so he had to let his family and Misa know in the very least. He dialed his home number and Sayu picked up.

_"Oni-chan! Nice to see you remember we exist!"_ she teased.

"Sayu…sorry I haven't been around," Light replied. "Is Mother and Father there? I need to speak to all of you."

_"You sound worried about something…but yeah, they're here hold on."_

He heard her set the phone down and call down the house for their parents. He knew his father was home for the day since he had not taken any time off at all in the past four years and had decided to take the week for himself to spend time at home with the family. The phone was picked up again and he heard Sayu push the button for speaker.

_"Good afternoon, Light…what do you need to talk to us about?"_ Soichiro asked.

"I have to go to England," Light said rather bluntly.

_"England?"_ Sachiko repeated, clearly quite stunned.

"Yes, Ryuuzaki needs help on a new case," Light replied. "…Watari contacted me, he said Ryuuzaki is in the hospital…"

There was a pause. Light and Soichiro had not been able to give out much information about the Kira Case, but they had told Sachiko and Sayu that they had been working for Ryuuzaki, who worked under L. Obviously only Soichiro would be able to grasp the seriousness of this situation and he heard his father sigh in disbelief.

_"Ryuuzaki's been injured? Do you know how badly?" _he asked.

"No," Light admitted. "Watari wishes me to leave tomorrow at three."

_"Eh?! That's so soon!"_ Sayu complained.

"I'll stop by for dinner," Light said. "I just thought I would let you know…I can't back out of this, I think it's more serious than Watari is letting on."

_"Light…you're a man now, we can't stop you from making your decisions…but you must be careful,"_ Soichiro said.

"I will, father," Light replied.

He hung up soon afterwards after promising to go over for dinner. Truth be told he needed to speak to his father about this. He was going to look into any murders happening in England to see if there was a pattern. After all, he wanted to be able to solve this case as soon as possible; besides, going in ignorant was something he would never do.

So then…the next thing to do would be to call Misa. He knew she would put up a big fuss about it, though it would be nothing compared to facing how she'd act if he just left without a word. Honestly, he was far too nice for his own good sometimes. He dialed in her number and got ready for her to scream in delight.

_"LIGHT!!"_

Typical Misa.

"Misa, I have to tell you something important," Light said.

_"What is it, Light?"_ Misa asked in a simpering voice.

"I have to leave the country for awhile. You remember Ryuuzaki? He needs help on a case so I have to go to England," Light explained.

There was a long pause at the other end and Light wisely chose to hold the phone away from his ear.

_"YOU'RE LEAVING YOUR MISA-MISA?!"_

"I'm sure it won't be for that long, once Ryuuzaki and I get on the case we'll solve it right away," Light said, his ever-present confidence ringing through his voice.

_"But Misa will miss you too much! Can't you help from Tokyo?" _Misa whined.

Light paused. He wasn't sure how happy Ryuuzaki would be if he went around telling everyone that he was injured. He sighed and shook his head. "No, I can't, Misa…Ryuuzaki came here to work on the Kira case and though I doubt this is going to be as big as Kira, if he needs me to go to England then I will go to England."

_"Misa-Misa doesn't want Light to go,"_ Misa complained and Light could just see the pout she had working on her face right now.

"I'm sorry Misa, but I already agreed that I would," Light said. "You can come with me to the airport, but I'm afraid I cannot back out of this."

_"Misa understands…she'll go with you to the airport."_

"I'll see you tomorrow then, Misa," Light replied, hanging up before she could argue against him any more.

He sighed and glanced at the clock. Well, he mine as well get to his family and that way he could look into the murders that had been happening in England. It was strange, from what he understood of L, he never got involved with a case unless more than ten people had been killed or a million dollars was at stake. That's what his father had told him when Light had asked about the detective two years prior to the Kira case. He had heard nothing about any murders happening in England. Perhaps they were trying to keep panic down by shushing them up. He shook his head, either way, Light already had the feeling that this was not going to be an easy case.

………………………………………………………………………………………………

"Light," Soichiro greeted him heavily.

Light nodded to his father, removing his shoes and stepping into the house. Sachiko immediately appeared from the kitchen with Sayu and they walked over to Light. Light sighed. They had a right to be worried, but he'd honestly feel better if they didn't converge as if he was about to go to a friend's funeral.

"Father, I was wondering if you'd help me," Light said. "I want to see if I can find out any information on what's been happening in England."

"That's a great place to start," Soichiro said with a nod.

Light greeted his mother and Sayu with a hug before he followed his father into the office. Soichiro booted up the computer and then offered Light the seat, knowing his son's investigative ability surpassed his own. Light sat down and immediately set to work. He looked up any deaths that had occurred in England recently. His amber eyes widened slightly as he read through recent news articles.

_Another victim was found dead today in Argyle Square. Like the previous three murders, the body was brutally slashed and disfigured. The murderer removed the victim of his hands before cutting into his chest and removing his heart. There are many bruises about the victim's body which suggests that the murderer beat him before death. What's even more disturbing is that any fingerprints found on the body belonged to the victim, which leads to the conclusion that he was assaulted after his hands were removed and the murderer beat him with his own two hands. However, seeing as how the first three murders were wiped entirely clean of fingerprints, we have to assume that the murderer has grown bolder or left it as a message. We deeply implore people to avoid wandering around alone and if you must head out, refrain from doing so at a late hour._

If Light had been worried about Ryuuzaki before, it was nothing compared to how he felt now. This murderer sounded absolutely vicious and Light highly doubted that Ryuuzaki managed to escape without obtaining some serious injuries. Suddenly, he wished his flight was now so that he could hurry up and track this killer down. He was worried, very worried. He glanced at his father and saw that his brow was furrowed and his mouth set in a deep frown. So, he wasn't the only one who was nervous.

"Light…" Soichiro began.

"I know what you would say," Light sighed. "But despite the obvious barbaric methods of this killer, I am not changing my plans."

Soichiro sighed. "You've dealt with dangerous cases before…the Kira case was as high as you could get for a dangerous case…but Light…this murderer…I hate to say this but being killed by Kira would probably be a mercy killing compared to being attacked by this monster."

Light smiled softly. "Which is why I will not jeopardize by life by being careless," he said. "I will not fall into this killer's clutches."

"I am confident in your abilities, Light…but remember, this murderer got to L and that's almost an impossible feat," Soichiro reminded him.

"Which is why I have to go," Light said. "I don't want anyone else to become a victim…besides, Ryuuzaki is a friend, if he wants my help, I will give it to him."

Soichiro said nothing and instead just looked at his son for a moment. He sighed and placed a hand on his shoulder. "You have become an honorable man," he said. "I'm proud of you, Light…just swear to me you will not do anything reckless on this case."

Light nodded. "I swear, father, I'll keep myself out of danger and I will solve this case quickly," he said.

Soichiro nodded. "I know you will, Light," he said, allowing a small smile to lift his lips.

They returned to looking at the information available but since there was absolutely nothing pointing towards a suspect, they called it quits figuring that Light would be further informed upon his arrival in England. Both men returned to the main room of the house where dinner was just being served. Light sighed as he sat down. This may be his last dinner with his family for a while. He was not sure how long this case would take to solve, though he was hoping that it would end quickly. He shuddered to himself as he reviewed the news he had just read. He was dealing with a psycho.

………………………………………………………………………………………………

"Liiiiiight!"

Light sighed. He heard her far before he even saw her. He had returned to his apartment after dinner and had decided to get some rest since his flight was a good sixteen hours and the time difference was going to throw him off quite a bit. Hearing Misa's voice calling out his name before she had even reached the door of the apartment was not a good start to a sure to be boring trip.

He opened the door and the blond model threw herself on him, hugging him tightly. Light rolled his eyes and hugged her briefly before pushing her away gently. Fortunately, she had not arrived early so he could therefore head immediately towards the airport without her suggesting lunch beforehand.

"Come on, Misa, we have to get going," he said, seeing her eyes lingering on his bedroom door. No matter how many times she asked, the answer was always going to be no.

Misa sighed in an overly dramatic type of way and followed him as he led the way outside. Light got into his car and glanced at his apartment building again. Heh, he was getting sick of this place anyway. Maybe if the case was solved quickly enough he'd take some time off and just stay in England for a while. For the meantime…he was going to have to sit through Misa's bland monologue of how much she was going to miss him and how he had to be careful and that she would be waiting for him when he got back. Light nodded and pretended to listen, but truth be told, he was starting to feel a bit nervous about all of this.

………………………………………………………………………………………………

"Misa will see Light soon?" Misa asked.

They were in the proper terminal and Light's plane left in half an hour. Watari had been kind enough to pay for a first class ticket for him. Light wanted to roll his eyes but instead he shrugged his shoulders slightly.

"I honestly don't know, Misa," Light replied. "I don't imagine the case will drag on too long," he added when he saw her crest-fallen face.

Misa lunged and hugged him tightly and Light patted her awkwardly on the back. Honestly, where had her obsession with him come from? She had seen him in Aoyama once and had been tailing after him ever since. He remembered how she was accused of being the Second Kira…perhaps Kira had manipulated her feelings somehow and she had just decided to stick with her convictions that she loved him and was the only woman for him. Well, let her think what she wanted, Light would give her friendship, but nothing more.

"Be careful, Light," Misa whispered.

"Don't worry about me," Light replied.

He gave her a quick hug before pushing her away and offering her a charming smile before heading onto the plane. Now then…sixteen hours and he would hopefully be given more information. He had looked into the murders again this morning, but it was the same old news. Pity, he would have liked to be able to contribute to the case right away. No doubt Ryuuzaki would think of some sort of scathing remark. Light sighed, he was going to have to get used to L all over again…great.

……………………………………………………………………………………………...

By the time he reached his destination Light Yagami was exhausted. He was suffering from jet lag and the fact that the time was so much earlier here. As soon as he left the plane and entered the airport, he saw a well-dressed man look him over before heading towards him.

"Mr. Yagami?" he asked with a thick British accent.

"Yes," Light replied. He had continuously studied English in college so though he had a slight Asian accent, his words would be easily understood.

"Come with me, please, I shall be driving you to the hospital," the man said. "My name is Andrew Johnson by the way."

"Nice to meet you," Light said, though in all honesty…he just didn't care about the guy right now. What he wanted to do was settle down in a soft bed and sleep, but it could wait. He was very curious as to what Ryuuzaki would tell him about these murders.

Andrew led the way out of the airport and opened the car door for Light. Light thanked him absent-mindedly and tuned the man out once it became apparent that he didn't know anything about what was going on. They reached the hospital in about an hour, the car ride only succeeding in making Light feel more exhausted, though he pushed it away as Andrew stopped the car.

"Watari will be waiting for you inside," he told him.

"Thank you," Light replied.

He got out and walked up the hospital steps, trepidation starting to sink in. Why was he getting the feeling that he was about to hear something awful? He shook his head, no this was Ryuuzaki, and Ryuuzaki was always fine. He was worrying over nothing…he had to be worrying over nothing. Wait…why was he so worried in the first place? Ryuuzaki probably wouldn't be feeling this way if their positions had been changed. Would he? Light didn't want to answer that question.

"Light-kun…I hope you enjoyed your trip," Watari said as soon as Light walked through the doors.

Light looked around with distaste. He hated hospitals…they were so…white and empty. He focused on Watari and nodded. "I cannot complain about it," he said. He paused and felt an uncomfortable silence brewing. "May I speak to Ryuuzaki now?" he asked.

Watari shifted his gaze, something Light would not expect from the elderly man. Aside from Light, Watari was the only person who was able to withstand L's gaze and to see him back down from a curious look on Light's part was definitely disconcerting.

"I'm afraid I haven't been telling you the truth, Light-kun," Watari said, speaking in Japanese for Light's benefit…or so that the other people would not listen in on their conversation.

Light raised his eyebrow. "Oh?" he asked.

"Ryuuzaki never asked you to come here," Watari admitted. A puzzled look crossed Light's face. "Truth is…Ryuuzaki hasn't spoken a word for four days now…"

"What?" Light asked, shocked. Yes the detective was not the most verbal of people, but still…to go that long without muttering a single word? What was going on here?

"Watari…what happened to Ryuuzaki?" Light asked, not sure if he wanted to know the answer.

"He was attacked by the murderer," Watari answered, though Light could tell there was more to it, the tone of the older man's voice said as much.

"And?" he prompted.

"He is in critical condition…" Watari added and Light could tell that it was hard for the old man to speak about this. Ryuuzaki was, as far as Light could tell, like a grandson to him. "…but…he was also raped, Light-kun."

Light's eyes widened and he swore his heart stopped beating. Ryuuzaki…L…raped? He could feel his hands trembling. He was not afraid, he was just overwhelmed and…angry. Ryuuzaki could be the most annoying person in the whole damn world…but no one deserved that.

"I want to see him," Light said, his voice sounded far away, as if he was listening to the conversation from another room. "Now…"

Watari nodded. "As you wish…I was hoping you would be able to get him to say something…I have been trying nonstop…but nothing seems to be working."

Watari turned and started to lead Light towards Ryuuzaki's room. Light saw a noticeable hunch to the man's shoulders, as if he were bearing a great weight across his back. He hated having to ask, but the more he knew, the closer he'd get to solving the case.

"Does Ryuuzaki…remember anything about the killer?" he asked hesitantly.

Watari's eyes darkened. "He knows a great deal about the killer," he replied. "As do I…but now is not the time to get into it. Do not mention the murderer in front of Ryuuzaki right now."

Light nodded, feeling as though someone had just punched him in the stomach and winded him. Ryuuzaki…avoiding the case? Then again…Light supposed if he had been in L's position, he wouldn't want to think about it either. He hardly noticed that Watari had stopped outside of a closed door.

"I shall leave you alone with him," Watari said. "Use your discretion in what you say…"

"I will," Light assured him.

Watari nodded and left. Light took a deep breath and let it out slowly before he opened the door. What awaited him was worse than what he imagined. He figured he'd walk in and see L sitting in a chair, maybe reading and that he would simply be ignored for the time he visited…but no. Ryuuzaki was laying on his back in a bed, an IV hooked to his arm and bandages covering his bare chest. His black eyes were focused unseeingly on the ceiling and he had no expression…his face was completely void, as if he wasn't even there.

"Ryuuzaki," Light said gently, walking over to him.

Those dark eyes blinked slowly and then shifted ominously on Light. Light stared right back as he always did, but Ryuuzaki looked away. He actually looked away! He never did that! Their rivalry was such that even something as simple as a stare down was taken completely seriously and neither would back off until someone stepped in to stop them.

Light walked over to the bed and noticed a chair set up, probably where Watari sat and seated himself, just looking at the detective. L looked awful. His black hair was in further disarray, the bags under his eyes were more pronounced, he was paler and had a haunted look to his face and had lost more weight. The blankets were around his hips, revealing his entire torso, most of which was wrapped in bandages. His left arm was completely covered and his right wrist was wrapped tightly as well.

An awkward silence fell over the room. Light didn't know what to say. Any meaningless chatter was useless. What could he say? _'Hey Ryuuzaki, long time no see…how are you doing?'_ It was completely ridiculous. So then…what could he do except sit here and pray that Ryuuzaki would actually say something? But still…four days and not a word, not even to Watari.

"Ryuuzaki…" Light trailed off. For once in his life he was completely at a loss for what to do or say.

Ryuuzaki didn't even look at him this time. Light found that it hurt a bit…it had been four years after all and though they were not the best of friends, he still considered them close especially after everything they went through. He did not expect Ryuuzaki to show any type of joy, but he could at least _say something_!

"Oy, Ryuuzaki…" Light began again, reaching forward to rest his hand over the detective's.

Big mistake.

As soon as his hand brushed over Ryuuzaki's the detective's black eyes widened and he yelped and pulled his hand away. "D-Don't…touch me!" he snarled so savagely that Light almost toppled out of the chair. His eyes were opened wide and his jaw slightly agape as Ryuuzaki's chest rose and fell quickly as if he was in a panic.

"I'm…sorry, Ryuuzaki," Light said.

Ryuuzaki continued to glare at him as if Light were about to attack in any second. Light held up his hands to show he wasn't going to do anything, but even that movement made Ryuuzaki attempt to crawl to the furthest corner of his bed and away from him. Light couldn't believe this…was this really L? This frightened, shivering man that flinched when he moved too quickly?

"I'm not going to hurt you," Light tried to assure him.

To his dismay, Ryuuzaki clapped his hands over his ears and shut his eyes tightly. "S-stop it…stop it!" he groaned, beginning to rock back and forth. No, this had to be some type of dream…this couldn't be L…no one could make L act this way. Light stood up slowly and Ryuuzaki started to tremble.

"Ryuuzaki, it's me…it's Light Yagami!" Light said, trying anything to get through to him.

Ryuuzaki stopped rocking and opened his eyes as if noticing that Light was there for the first time. "Light…Yagami…?" he asked.

"Yes, I came here to see you," Light said, feeling that he was finally getting somewhere.

"…Why?" Ryuuzaki asked, his voice sounding somewhat more like Light remembered it.

"Because you're my friend and I haven't seen you in four years," Light replied with a soft smile. He was going to say that he heard he was in need of his help, but since Watari had instructed him to steer clear of the case for the time being, he had decided against that.

"Leave," Ryuuzaki ordered.

Light blinked. "Excuse me?" he asked.

"You have to leave…get out of England, forget you ever knew me."

"Now you're just being stupid, Ryuuzaki," Light frowned. "I'm not just going to leave when you're acting this way."

"No…you have to get out now, before he knows," Ryuuzaki whispered and his breathing started to increase again.

Light wanted desperately to ask who 'he' was but instead he took a step closer to the bed. "I'm not leaving," he said stubbornly.

"He'll kill you," Ryuuzaki mumbled.

"Ryuuzaki…I don't plan on dying any time soon," Light said.

But Ryuuzaki was shaking again. Light sighed, figuring that since the detective recognized him for who he was, he reached out to lay a comforting hand on his shoulder, however as soon as his hand neared Ryuuzaki, Ryuuzaki shrieked.

"NO!! DON'T TOUCH ME!" Ryuuzaki shouted.

"R-Ryuuzaki," Light stammered.

"Don't call me Ryuuzaki! Don't talk to me! Go away…just go away!" Ryuuzaki pleaded.

Light started to back out of the room, he didn't reach the door before it was suddenly opened quickly and Watari and a nurse hurried into the room. Watari grabbed Light's arm and started to pull him out of the room while the nurse hurried forward holding a needle. The last thing Light saw of the room was the woman practically lunging to stick the needle in Ryuuzaki's arm as the detective desperately tried to get away from her.

"W-Watari…" Light said, his voice sounding completely overwhelmed.

Watari regarded him coolly. "Now you see what condition he is in…" he said.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to upset him," Light said.

"You got him to talk to you at least," Watari sighed, and Light knew that the man had been mad at him, but was forgiving him since he could see how upset Light was.

"Come, you must be tired," Watari finally said after a long pause. "I'll bring you to the hotel you'll be staying at…"

Light nodded numbly, glancing at the door where he could Ryuuzaki whimpering as the nurse tried her hardest to console him. Nothing could have prepared him for that. Never, ever in his wildest dreams would he ever imagine L acting like that. His heart clenched inside his chest. He would find L's attacker and he would make sure he was punished for what he did.

**Silent Dagger:** Yes, I understand L is out of character in this chapter…but hey, no one can act emotionless all the time, especially after something like this. Fair warning, next chapter you find out exactly what happened to him…it will be slightly graphic.


	3. What Happened

**Ab Aeterno**

**Silent Dagger:** Right…just thought I'd give fair warning. This chapter is likely to be disturbing and graphic…I'll try not to make it TOO bad though.

**Santri:** hooray, glad you like both works so far! Thanks for the review!

**Riku-Aura777:** Yes, L is NOT going to have a happy time in the first few chapters of this story. Poor guy, I feel so awful for always tormenting him in my stories…thanks for the review!

**Shishishishi4444:** Yes, unfortunately he was…thanks for reviewing!

**Sioen:** Yeah, I sort of figured that if he acted normally after being raped…well, something would be very wrong with him. I'm glad I'm writing this story to your liking so far. Beyond is a really original character and hard to write because he's psychotic in a way, but he's also extremely intelligent. Thanks for the review!

**Nightwing Gurl:** Hooray another update so you will now know what actually happened to L. L will probably remain OOC for a few more chapters, this isn't something that's easy to recover from after all. Thanks for reviewing!

**Copycat-riko:** I know…I'm really, really mean to L, but there will be a lot of good to come from this, believe me! Thanks for the review!

**Nusku:** Yeah, that's how I figured it, I'm glad I got it right, thank you for the review!

**Whitelilly:** That is such a good question! We both love L so much and yet we both torture him so much…I swear it's just because of what happens on the board…it's rubbing off in the story! Lol! Love you too!

**Lunabasketcase:** Well…I hardly condone skipping class ::coughs::bullshit::coughs:: haha, but since you skipped it to read my story it is perfectly all right. Happy Birthday again!!

**PirateCaptainBo:** Never doubt the awesome power of BB! Voila, the next chapter lol thanks for reviewing!

**Blonde-de-nuit:** Yes, I'm horrible to L in my ffs…oops ::innocent smile:: thanks for the review!

**Kamichiro Eris:** mwahaha, yes I can read your mind!! Lol I think we are all guilty of that sadistic side…or at least we are, couldn't write it if I wasn't after all lol. Thank you so much for the review, you're really very encouraging as always!

**Snow-leapord-demon24:**I'm sorry about making you cry…err…this chapter probably won't remedy that…sorry in advance! Thanks for reviewing!

**Shiroyuki004:** That was the original plan…then I decided to go for the shocker and have him freak out instead lol. Thanks for the review!!

**Chapter Two: What Happened…**

_"What's the matter, L?" Watari asked._

_L blinked and looked up from his laptop to see Watari standing behind his chair. He tilted his head to the side. "Nothing," L replied. "Why do you ask?"_

_Watari paused and then sighed. "You just do not seem yourself," he said. "You seem…bored."_

_L focused his eyes back on the computer screen, his thumb making its way to his lips at his nibbled at it thoughtfully. "Bored?" he repeated. "Perhaps…" _

_It was true that after the Kira case there hadn't been a big case in the last four years. L had been involved with a fair share of cases over these years, but none of them really presented a challenge and he had them figured out within two months at the latest. For the most part, L spent his time thinking about the Kira case. Kira…his most worthy opponent…had turned out to be a corrupt businessman. No, that just was not right. L had been sure…but no, he had to live with the fact that he had been wrong. Light Yagami had not been Kira; he had simply been manipulated by him._

_After that had happened…well, there was not much else to do but head back to England for a while. L had gone to Wammy's as he had promised to do when the Kira case was over. He had spent some time with his successors, all of them inspired by his work and training harder than ever so that they would be able to take his place should anything happen to him. L had spent a good month at Wammy's before the cases started flowing in again and had moved to London once more to work on them. _

_He did find himself thinking about the others on rare occasions. Light, Soichiro, Aizawa, Mogi, Ide…even Matsuda crossed his mind on silent evenings. They had been the first people outside of Wammy's that he had shown his face to, apart from his brief encounter with Naomi Misora, though he had never even told her that he was L to her face, having left her to figure it out for herself. Did he miss them? Not really, but he hadn't minded working with them even though he preferred to do things alone._

_"Are you sure you are all right, L?" Watari asked._

_L blinked and nodded. "Yes, I am fine," he replied._

_"Very well…I came to ask what type of cake you would like…I see you finished the last one early this morning," Watari said, letting the matter go for now._

_L didn't answer right away. Instead he set his feet upon the floor and stood up, his shoulders slouched and his hands navigating their way into his pockets. "Do not worry about it, Watari, I will go myself this time," he said._

_Watari looked at him with mild surprise and then nodded. "Very well," he said. _

_"You know the usual procedure," L replied absently, grabbing his cell phone from the console and dropping it into his pocket._

_"An hour?"_

_"Yes," L replied._

_Watari nodded and L headed out of the room. Being who he was meant that going outside was dangerous, even if no one knew his face. However, because he was aware of this, he had instructed Watari to call him if he had been gone for over an hour, even if it was a second past the hour. If he did not answer, Watari needed only plug L's cell phone number into a computer that was hooked to a satellite and he would be able to locate L even if the phone was shut off. It assured L safety but it also meant one thing. If something bad did happen, he had to hold out for an hour._

…………………………………………………………………………………………………………

_L was never too worried about going outside. He did not like crowds, but his rather wild appearance usually kept people away from him. They either thought he was crazy or some young punk, either way, he was not someone people would usually seek out. There was a bakery about ten minutes away from the hotel he was residing at. Watari usually got his supply of cake there and all the flavors he had chosen thus far had been delicious. L was looking forward to the chance to be surrounded by a bunch of cake._

_He was passing by a dark alley when it happened._

_A hand shot out of that darkness and grabbed hold of him, covering his mouth and dragging him back further into the alley. L strained against his captive's hands and managed to elbow him in the ribs, causing the man to grunt in pain but he did not let go. He pulled L through a small side door and into a building that had obviously been abandoned some time ago._

_He was thrown roughly to the floor, landing with a thud on his back and before he could even get himself oriented, he felt a weight upon him as his attacker straddled his waist and grabbed his wrists, pinning them harshly to the floor. L blinked, trying to focus in on the face and suddenly the face was looming before him as his assailant leaned in close. _

_Pale lips lifted into an excited smirk as red eyes swam before him, lighting up with cruelty and malice. L's blood froze within his veins as he realized who he was looking at._

_"Beyond Birthday…" he whispered._

_"L Lawliet," B whispered in return._

_Questions exploded in L's mind. How was this possible? Beyond had been arrested six years ago and had died in prison. That's what he had been told! And yet here he was in the flesh, leering down at him, faint scars from the fire marring his pale face and neck as he grinned down at him. This…was bad. _

_"L…my L…I have been waiting to see you for so long," B purred._

_L narrowed his eyes. "And why would that be?" he asked coldly, though he already knew the answer._

_"To prove that I am better than you, that you are nothing but a shadow to me. I am above you L, you should be groveling at my feet," B hissed._

_L raised an eyebrow. "You do not know me very well if you think that I will grovel," he said, keeping his voice completely composed despite the obvious danger he was in._

_Beyond frowned. He took hold of both L's wrist with one powerful hand before reaching into his pocket and pulling out a dagger. L stared at him with his usual stoic expression. Just an hour…not even, fifteen minutes must have passed since he had left the hotel. Forty-five minutes…all he had to do was keep Beyond talking. B smirked and brought the knife to his lips and ran his tongue over the flat of the blade._

_"Hmm I believe this will be more satisfying once the blade is stained with your blood," B said with a crooked grin._

_He brought the knife to L's throat and traced it against his white skin. L remained calm and simply looked into those red eyes. B smirked again and pulled the knife away before leaning in again._

_"Such contempt in that gaze of yours," he whispered. "I am a bit upset that you haven't shown any excitement at seeing me again. After all, I came all the way from America just to see you. It's been so long, my dear, so very long…"_

_"You're wasting your time, Beyond, I never thought about you after the Los Angeles case," L replied quite truthfully._

_B's red eyes flashed dangerously and he brought the knife up into the air before plunging it into L's shoulder. L winced but clamped his jaw together to keep any noise from escaping his lips. His breathing picked up as pain coursed through his shoulder as B ruthlessly withdrew the knife from his flesh._

_The frown slid from B's face as he watched the crimson blood slowly soak into L's white shirt. He placed the knife on the ground and ran his fingers over L's wound, causing the detective to flinch from the stabbing pain. B chuckled and brought his fingers to his lips, slowly running his tongue over the digits, licking up the blood. He closed his eyes as if he had just enjoyed a rare delicacy and let out a contented sigh._

_"Lovely…just as I imagined it," he whispered._

_L narrowed his eyes dangerously, trying to ignore the screaming throbs issuing repeatedly from his shoulder. B's eyes snapped open and he smiled quite maniacally at him, retrieving the knife from the floor._

_"Now, let's try this again…did you miss me, L Lawliet?" he asked._

_L knew that he was about to face a lot more pain…forty minutes, he could withstand that, what he would not be able to withstand was playing B's game. He glared up at the murderer._

_"I will never miss you, Beyond," he replied._

_B bared his teeth and stabbed L in the side causing L's breath to catch in his throat when he felt cold steel within him again. B did not immediately pull the blade from his torso, he leaned his, his lips inches from L's own. "…Wrong…answer," he growled. He grasped the handle of the knife tightly. "Did you miss me?" he hissed._

_"No," L replied darkly._

_B twisted the knife and L shut his eyes and held his breath, doing anything he could not to cry out from the fiery throb of pain. B frowned again and sat up more, looking at L's face fully. He slowly pulled the knife out of him and let it drop to the floor, letting the tips of his fingers brush over L's cheek._

_"My beautiful L…how lovely you look with a flush of pain upon your skin, those sweet beads of sweat, that tremble in your jaw as you hold your moans back…"_

_L moved his head away from B's fingers but B simply grabbed his chin roughly and forced him back. "Do not deny me, my shadow," he whispered._

_"I will always deny you," L said softly._

_B suddenly yanked L's left arm forward, holding it straight before grabbing the knife and stabbing the tip into L's arm, right at the shoulder. He then dragged the blade roughly down the length of his arm. Blood spilled from the limb, covering B's hands as he dropped L's arm and simply looked at his hands with a smile upon his face. L hissed and though he longed to cradle his screaming arm, he knew he could not waste this opportunity. Using all the motion he could, he punched B in the face with his uninjured hand, putting all the force he could into the blow. B toppled off of him and L clambored to his feet, wincing as blood flowed freely from his wounds. Wounds could wait, he had to get out of here._

_He hurried towards the door but a strong hand grabbed hold of his ankle and ripped him back, causing him to fall flat on his face. B yanked him back roughly, flipping L onto his back once more and taking his previous position over his hips. He was breathing heavily, his eyes wide and burning._

_"You've not been a very good boy, my pet," he whispered darkly. "It is apparent that the method I am using will not bring you to heel."_

_"I will never give you the satisfaction you seek," L said, glaring up at him._

_B tilted his head. "On the contrary, I think I will be very satisfied after this," he replied with a sickly sweet smile._

_He leaned in close, grabbing L by the shoulders, his hand clamping down painfully on L's wound, causing the blood to rush out of him as he smirked. "I know you will never break from this type of pain," he whispered, giving L's injured shoulder a quick squeeze. _

_L felt his heart beat start to increase. Whatever B was hinting at, he was sure he did not want to find out. That lustful look in the murderer's eyes was enough to have him feeling trepidation slowly overwhelm his chest. B chuckled again and before L could stop him, he closed the distance between their lips and kissed him harshly. L froze, his mind seemed to be wiped blank as he felt those eager lips attempt to open his own mouth. Realization of what was happening came flooding over him and he clenched his jaw shut. B growled hungrily against his unresponsive lips and bit at L's lower lip, hard enough to draw blood but still L did not relent._

_B broke away and looked at him with a raised eyebrow. "You're resistance is only making me want to take you more," he said. _

_L glared hatefully at him but he did not respond. B sighed and shook his head before he suddenly punched L as hard as he could in the stomach. L gasped as the wind was knocked out of him and in that one moment, B crushed their lips together again, taking advantage of L's parted mouth to force his tongue into L's mouth, curling his tongue about L's before letting it roam, tasting every inch of him._

_Ignoring how much pain he was in for the moment, L slammed his hands against B's chest and shoved at him. B only laughed into the kiss and grabbed L's wrist, smashing them to the floor again never once breaking from the kiss. L began to tremble beneath him from the unwanted contact, but B only deepened the kiss letting a feral moan pass from his throat._

_When he finally broke away, L's chest was heaving and he felt dizzy. His was still bleeding heavily and it was starting to take effect as darkness crept into his peripheral. He knew if he did not get help soon, that darkness would overtake all his senses and he would be at the complete mercy of this murderer. As it was, he was not sure how much longer he could continue fighting him anyway. His blood was like his strength and it was quickly flooding out of him._

_"You taste…sweet," B said, tilting his head to the side again. "I rather like the taste of you…L."_

_"You…will not get away with this, Beyond," L groaned._

_B closed his eyes again and let out a shuddering breath before opening them slowly and letting them lock on L's dark eyes again. "Say that again for me, my love, it will make taking you that much sweeter."_

_L narrowed his eyes, causing B to laugh. He leaned in and L turned his face away. B smirked and pressed his lips against L's ear. "I will make you mine, L Lawliet," he whispered, tracing L's ear with his tongue and causing the detective to shudder._

_With stunning agility, B grabbed at the waistband of L's jeans and ripped them from his hips. Only now did L start to lose his composure. This could not happen, not to him. He was L, he was the world's top three detectives! He lunged with his hands and managed to grab B's wrists as the murderer made to tear away his boxers. _

_"Don't…you…dare," L growled._

_"That's hardly something you should say to me," B said, adopting an innocent voice. _

_He struck suddenly. Since his hands were being kept at bay he used his head, smashing his forehead against L's in a vicious head butt that left bursts of lights dancing before L's eyes. He blinked slowly, feeling in a daze and heard B cackling above him. He came to a moment too late; B already had his boxers down at his ankles with his pants._

_ "Mmm…yesss this is going far better than I expected," B said running a hand through his dark hair. _

_L groaned and tried to desperately clear his head but with B's last attack and the amount of blood his lost…well, his mind just didn't seem to want to operate. He flinched when he felt long fingers wrap around him and grabbed rather feebly for B's wrist. B only smirked and leaned in and captured his swollen lips in another rough kiss, giving him a harsh squeeze. _

_He broke away from the kiss and smiled letting his lips trail over L's neck. "Ready or not, Lawliet…here I come," he growled._

_He bit down on L's neck hard and L knew his teeth had broken the skin of his throat. He could feel that demon's tongue trace over the small beads of blood on his neck. He groaned in pain and he could actually feel B's lips twist into a grin upon his neck. He heard the unmistakable sound of a zipper being undone and he put up one more effort to stop all this, straining desperately against B. _

_B broke away from him and suddenly punched him in the face. Stars once again burst before his eyes and B laughed again, his voice echoing about the empty room. "And now…you'll be mine," he said, a hungry, predatory look in his blood-red eyes._

_He shifted himself lower, taking a firm hold of L's hips before thrusting roughly inside of him. Nothing L had ever experienced before could have prepared him for this type of pain. He felt like his body was being split in two. His eyes widened to their fullest and his mouth opened to issue a pained shout. _

_"Yes…cry for me, my little pet," B grunted, thrusting into him mercilessly once again._

_L screamed as the pain sent him into a torrential hell. His body was on fire, he couldn't do this! He couldn't take any more of this._

_"Now…then…" B asked slowly. "Shall…we return…to my original…question? Did…you…miss…me…L Lawliet?" _

_L groaned loudly and shook his head. B laughed cruelly and became even more rough, causing L to arch his back in pain and tears to course down his cheeks. B leaned forward eagerly and licked up those tears._

_"Suffer for me, L, let me hear you suffer," he ordered._

_"S-Stop this!" L shouted._

_"Never," B grunted. "Not until…you answer correctly. Did you miss me…L Lawliet?"_

_"A-ahhhh," L moaned._

_"As lovely as hearing you moan for me is, L, it does not answer the question!" B exclaimed, continually thrusting into him, his fingers digging into the flesh of his hips. "Did you miss me, L Lawliet?!"_

_"Y-yes! I missed you!" L cried._

_B threw his head back and cackled. "I knew it! I knew it! I knew it!" he shouted in triumph. "You can never stop thinking of me…because I own you!" _

_Darkness was slowly creeping over L's vision and he wished that he could just black out from all of this. The pain was unbearable; he could not stop the tears from cascading from his eyes. He could not stop the pained whimpers from passing his lips; he could not stop Beyond Birthday._

_However, Beyond Birthday seemed to be satisfied with the current situation. He thrust into L a few more times before pulling away from him. Without a word, he grabbed the knife and held up L's right arm and grinned. L was shaking too much to even try and stop him as B began to carve into his wrist. With sick delight plastered over his face, he turned L's arm, showing L his own wrist in which two crude Bs had been carved into his flesh._

_"BB…because you're mine now," B whispered. _

_He leaned forward and kissed L again. L felt far too weak to even stop him and B must have felt this for he smirked against his lips and pushed his tongue into his mouth again, wrapping his tongue about L's in an act of complete dominance. He broke away and ran his fingers through L's hair in an almost gentle manner._

_"Good bye for now, love," he whispered. "You are truly beautiful when you suffer."_

_He pushed away from L and stood, pulling his pants back up and holding the knife up to his lips again, slowly licking the blood from the blade. "Mmm, I was right, tastes much better now," he grinned._

_B walked towards the door and turned to look at L, blowing him a mocking kiss. "I shall come and call upon you again soon, L," he said. "In the meantime I'll practice up on the unsuspecting masses…try not to miss me too much, dear."_

_Without another word or another look, B opened the door and left. L remained where he lay, too weak and in far too much pain to even try to move. He closed his eyes and could feel tears leaking from under his lids but he did nothing to try and stop it. He could hear his phone start to vibrate in his jeans pocket, but he didn't even have the strength to reach forward and grab it._

_Watari would come for him. Though by the time he got there, L would have long fallen into an unconscious state. He would not remember Watari's startled cry at his condition, or how the old man picked him up bodily using a strength neither of them knew he possessed to quickly carry L to the waiting car. He wouldn't remember Watari pulling his pants back to their proper place or the fast car ride to the hospital. He wouldn't remember the gasp of the nurses as Watari brought L in, his shirt stained red, his face deathly pale. What he would remember is waking up in an unfamiliar bed in an unfamiliar room. He would remember feeling lost, degraded…worthless. He would remember how he did not deserve to be the world's top detective, that he was nothing but a murderer's pet._

_L Lawliet would remember giving up._

**Silent Dagger: **I sincerely apologize if that chapter made anyone uncomfortable. I know it made me slightly uncomfortable to write. The next update probably won't come out as quickly as these last few. I'm going to be focusing on **In Paridisum** again.


	4. Won't Leave You This Way

**Ab Aeterno**

**Silent Dagger:** Phew, Beyond sure is a bastard…that last chapter was actually hard to write.

**Chibi-eru:** Sorry it took so long for the update, but here it is at last! Thanks for the review.

**Lunabasketcase:** Um…well apparently you need to get ready! Gawd!! I'm just an evil, evil person obviously lol. And no worries, Light will take care of him lol. See you when I'm not too lazy to walk down the hall.

**Thien:** I think a part of L definitely wanted to remember B. Haha poor L…I make him such a uke.

**UNpReDiCtAbLE lIfE:** Yes, curse him! He is evil! Let's deny him jam! Glad you're enjoying it so far, thanks for reviewing.

**Nusku:** :hugs: awww I'm sorry for making you cry. Don't worry, now is the time for recovery and luckily L has a good friend who will take care of him.

**SushiandManga:** Yeah, my stories tend to start really angsty and then gradually move away from that since I simply cannot write an entire story of angst. Thanks for reviewing!

**MiaoShou:** I was hoping I'd get that emotion right, even if it was really hard to write because I think it's one of the worst pains you could put a person through. I'm glad you like it so far, thank you for the review.

**Riku-Aura777:** Sorry for taking so long to update when the suspense was getting to you like that. I'm glad that you're enjoying the story so far and now that spring break is over I'll have more time to write. Thanks for reviewing.

**Nightwing Gurl:** :hands you a tissue: Sorry about that, though I'm glad your curiosity has been satisfied. Thanks for the review.

**Joejoe-dbloodlupherz:** I think you may have to take what B did up with B himself. Slap him! As for being hurt more, if L sustained any more damage, realistically I don't think he would have survived since he was bleeding so much as it was. Glad you like it so far!

**Yuki K. Li:** aww sorry about making you sad, and yeah, I know exactly what you mean lol

**Vedevria:** lmao yes, I can truthfully say that I know exactly what you mean. Thanks for reviewing.

**Quarter Queen:** L would never submit to anything easily. I'm glad you like it so far, sorry for the long wait!

**Copycat-rikko:** I know! I don't know what's wrong with me! Maybe everyone is right when they call me a masochist…nah. See you on the boards!

**Makoto:** Oh my god, I am not a sadist! Those are not classes; they're just an excuse for you to torture me! Aww I knew you were really just a sweetheart! Except I may have to take that compliment back since you just had to mention a chainsaw. I hate chainsaws! :sighs: yes, you make that so very obvious lol

**Kamichiro Eris:** Umm, can I just say I love you? Lol. Your reviews are always so encouraging and seriously just put a smile on my face every time I read them. Thank you so much for your continual support. Yeah, you got to watch yourself when you head to a bakery and there will be more interactions between L and B. Thank you so much for the lovely review.

**Shiroyuki004: **Well I'm sure by the time it took me to update this you've read about BB, but yeah, I highly suggest reading 'Death Note: Another Note' because it is awesome! Thanks for reviewing!

**Tainted Love007:** Beyond Birthday is a character from the spin off novel of Death Note called 'Death Note: Another Note'. L worked on the BB case before the Kira case. It's an awesome book.

**Island of the Ships:** Why thank you lol. And yes, Light will be helping L get over his trauma as best he can. Thanks for reviewing!

**Unknown Zero:** Voila, the update! I'm glad you like it so far!

* * *

**Chapter Three: Won't Leave You This Way**

Light woke up slowly that next morning. He was in a hotel about a block away from the hospital where Ryuuzaki was. He opened his eyes and just stared up at the ceiling for a while trying not to think. His thoughts, however, were too powerful to keep out and all of them were focused on Ryuuzaki and this case. No wonder Watari had called Light in. Ryuuzaki wasn't capable of handling a case right now so obviously someone had to be called in to stop this murderer, a murderer that both Ryuuzaki and Watari seemed to have known. How was it that they knew him? Was he simply a criminal from the past coming to haunt them again?

Light sighed, no, this murderer was no average criminal if he could do that to L. Not only was the detective almost impossible to get to, but the man knew how to defend himself in a fight as well. So it had to be a person from the detective's mysterious past who both knew what L looked like and how he fought. He shuddered again when the image of Ryuuzaki in the hospital pervaded his mind. Suddenly, he decided that even if his only reason for being in England was to stop this killer, he was going to take on another task. He was going to get Ryuuzaki back to his old self again.

With that in mind, Light nodded to himself and got out of bed. He took a quick shower and ate a hasty breakfast before throwing on his shoes and heading out the door. He really had no idea what he was supposed to be doing today anyway since Watari had not contacted him. He checked his cell phone to make sure it was on, and seeing that it was shrugged. Well, he would do what he wanted until he was called then and what he wanted to do was visit Ryuuzaki again and hopefully not cause disaster this time around.

* * *

"Ah, Light-kun, I was hoping you would come."

Light blinked. He had stepped into the hospital to see Watari just heading into the lobby from the hall, obviously he had just seen L. "I wish to speak to you for a moment," the elderly man said, indicating a quiet part of the room.

Light nodded and followed him over and Watari sighed and turned to face him. "I don't expect you watched the news this morning, Light-kun?" Watari asked.

"No," Light admitted. "I just woke up a short while ago."

Watari's eyes lingered to the clock and Light could tell he was resisting a sigh and focused again on what he was about to say. "The murderer has killed another five people…he did so in a time frame of seven hours. The first was killed at midnight, the last at seven this morning."

"Five more people in seven hours?" Light repeated. He frowned. "I'll need to see photos of the crime scenes, Watari…there must be a motive for these murders."

"I shall secure the proper information for you Light-kun and have it delivered to your hotel room," Watari said with a nod.

"Thank you," Light replied.

"Well, I shall not keep you…I know you came to visit Ryuuzaki. I am grateful that you are trying to help him so much," Watari said with a soft smile.

Light smiled in return. "He is still my friend," he said.

Watari nodded and headed out of the hospital. Light took a deep breath and checked in at the front desk before heading back towards Ryuuzaki's room. He opened the door slowly and saw that a nurse was changing his bandages.

"I am sorry," he said, bowing his head. "Shall I leave?"

"Well--" the nurse began.

"You do not have to leave," a low voice cut her off.

Light glanced at Ryuuzaki, but the detective was not looking at him. Well, he wasn't going to leave if L didn't want him to. He closed the door behind him and stood far enough from the bed to give the nurse room to move around. The bandages around Ryuuzaki's chest had been removed letting Light see it for the first time. His shoulder was stitched close and looked swollen and was bruised heavily, turning the pale skin a mottled red and black. There were more stitches in his side, the wound here had been covered in a thick gauze to prevent infection. He noticed that Ryuuzaki's right wrist was also free from the bandages and he thought he could see something carved upon the flesh. However, whether Ryuuzaki simply moved or felt Light's eyes lingering, he turned his arm slightly so that the inside of his wrist was hidden from view.

The nurse was just finished with unwrapping Ryuuzaki's left arm, revealing a harsh gash that traveled from shoulder to palm. She sighed and Light could tell she was disgusted with the person who had done this to Ryuuzaki. Well, she was not the only one. Light had a sudden desire to speak with Ryuuzaki alone…

"I can bandage those wounds, ma'am," Light said, making sure to keep his voice perfectly polite.

The nurse froze and looked at him with raised eyebrows as if she did not think he could possibly handle such a job.

"I am sorry, sir, but I cannot simply allow you to do my job for me," she said a bit coldly.

"I did not mean to offend you," Light said. "It's just I want to spend some time with my friend and help him as much as I can."

The nurse did not look convinced. She glanced at Ryuuzaki and he shrugged glumly. She sighed and started heading out the door. "Make sure they're tight but not too tight…" she warned.

Light nodded, a hundred percent sure that this woman was going to come in as soon as he left and make sure he didn't screw anything up. Light grabbed a roll of fresh bandages and then moved closer to Ryuuzaki.

"I'm sorry about yesterday, Ryuuzaki," Light said.

"It does not matter," Ryuuzaki replied in a deadpan voice.

"It does matter," Light said. He reached forward slowly to take hold of Ryuuzaki's left arm to start bandaging it. Ryuuzaki flinched horribly but he didn't start shrieking this time. "I was serious when I said I wanted to help you…I think I did the opposite yesterday."

"It is not your fault that I am so pathetic, Light-kun," Ryuuzaki sighed heavily.

Light stopped bandaging his arm and looked at him with a heavy frown set on his features. "You're not pathetic, Ryuuzaki…that is a word that I would never use to describe you." With that said he went back to wrapping up the abused limb.

"How about worthless then?" Ryuuzaki asked darkly.

"Nope," Light said easily, focusing on what he was doing.

"Dirty, used…I'm nothing, Light-kun…nothing but a killer's play thing…"

Light paused again and raised an eyebrow. "Is that really what you think?" he asked. "Because that's not what you are…You are L, the world's top three detectives, you solved the Kira case but not only that, you happen to be my friend and I do not make friends with worthless people."

"I was not like this when we met, Light-kun," Ryuuzaki pointed out, his voice hardly above a whisper.

"Yes I know that," Light replied, tying off the bandage. "I also know that when it comes to mental strength, yours in only paralleled by mine so I know you'll get over this, which is why I am still your friend."

He reached forward to grab more bandages and made to bandaged Ryuuzaki's right wrist, but he pulled it back sharply.

"No," he said quickly.

"Ryuuzaki, I can't just ignore your wrist if it needs to be bandaged," Light chastised.

"I…don't want you to see it," Ryuuzaki said, and his voice was starting to rise into that level of panic that it had reached yesterday.

Light sighed and nodded, unwilling to upset the detective again. "All right, I'm sorry…I'll leave it to the nurse then," he said.

Ryuuzaki continued to stare at him suspiciously and Light swore he could see small tremors running through that thin body. Now more than ever he wanted to find this murderer and strangle him.

"Eight people have died so far…" Ryuuzaki suddenly murmured. "I made Watari tell me…"

Light gulped and glanced away for a minute. He did not want to talk about the killer in front of L, not when he was still so vulnerable.

"What do you think his motive is, Light-kun?" Ryuuzaki asked.

Normally this would be a chance for Light to shine, but something about Ryuuzaki's voice…Light could tell he was not asking out of curiosity, he was just asking for the sake of making Light feel that he didn't have to worry so much. It angered Light that Ryuuzaki would be doing this to throw him off, to try and make Light think that he didn't need caring for, that he was perfectly fine when it was obvious that he wasn't.

"I think it's a challenge," he said. "Watari said that both of you know who he is, I can only assume there's a history to you both and this is his challenge."

"You're wrong," Ryuuzaki said bluntly. "It is not a challenge…he is merely practicing for the next time we meet."

Light's eyes widened. That was…sick. He shook his head. "You cannot be serious," he whispered.

"I would have thought that it was obvious that I was in no mood to joke," Ryuuzaki said dully.

"Well, there's just one problem for him," Light said. Ryuuzaki looked at him and Light stared back. "I'm here now and I refuse to let this happen to you again."

Ryuuzaki blinked slowly and then turned away again. Light sighed, he was hoping he would make some progress with the detective…well, it was true that Ryuuzaki was not screaming at him to leave this time, but this could have been even worse. At least he had seen some emotion in the man yesterday, the person sitting before him mine as well have been soulless. His eyes belonged to those of a dead man and his face was one of defeat and exhaustion.

"I have to bandage you side now," Light said, thinking about the best way to do this without it being awkward. Ryuuzaki merely shrugged again and sat up slowly. Light grabbed the bandages and moved forward again. He felt his face heating up a bit in embarrassment when he had to lay his hands on that bare skin and was even more embarrassed when he had to maneuver the bandages around his torso.

He could feel Ryuuzaki's breath upon his neck as he worked and couldn't help the sudden image of him gently leaning forward to kiss the detective from filling up his mind. His face flushed. What the hell was he thinking? Ryuuzaki was just a friend and that was it, he couldn't believe such a thought had just entered his head. It was just because he was so concerned for him and he hated seeing him like this, that was the reason. Light wasn't sure if anything he said would help and so his mind had made up a completely different type of solution. One that Light would _never_ try out.

When he finished bandaging his side he grabbed yet another roll to work on his shoulder. Light still could not believe the amount of damage Ryuuzaki had suffered from his attacker. It was a wonder the detective hadn't bled to death before he was found…or before he made his way to the hospital himself, Light wasn't exactly clear on the details and he would have to ask Watari about it later even if he didn't want to know. Light frowned to himself, best to just focus on getting this bandage around his shoulder, though it was embarrassing because he was still uncomfortably close to the man.

"Should I call in the nurse?" Ryuuzaki asked in a monotonous voice.

"Huh?" Light asked, caught off guard.

"You do not seem capable of finishing the job, your face is flushed and your pulse has quickened…is it the wound that is bothering you?"

Light supposed he should have been happy that the detective was talking to him at all, but the way his voice sounded…Ryuuzaki sounded like a corpse risen from the dead to deliver a final message. There was nothing to his voice, none of the old sarcasm or intelligent humor that only Light would be able to pick up on. It was empty.

"I'm fine, Ryuuzaki," Light said, gathering his wits about him and focusing on the job at hand. "I just…don't like seeing you this way."

Ryuuzaki didn't even bother to say anything to him and Light sighed. All these comments from his end did not seem to be working. He wanted Ryuuzaki to stop feeling so worthless. The world's top three detectives could never be worthless no matter what happened to him. His skills and determination attested to that. Light furrowed his brow, yes, L would always be L and Light was dedicated to bringing him back from whatever darkness he had fallen into.

"So…when you're released from the hospital, what do you say to grabbing dinner?" Light asked. "I haven't really had a chance to catch up with you."

Ryuuzaki's dark eyes widened and tremors started racing through his body again. "N-no, I don't want to be out in the open," he whispered fearfully. "Especially not with you, don't even think of being near me outside of the hospital."

"But…Ryuuzaki that's hardly fair," Light said with a frown.

"No!" Ryuuzaki hissed.

Light narrowed his eyes and stood, looking down at Ryuuzaki. "I am not afraid of this murderer, Ryuuzaki, and you shouldn't be either. He will not be allowed anywhere near you again and if he tries, I will personally see to the matter."

Ryuuzaki tilted his head slightly and Light swore he saw a flash of calculations in those dark eyes, the same look he constantly got during the Kira Investigation. Good, that was a good sign. Maybe this was just the track he needed to take to get Ryuuzaki back to normal.

"The old saying 'ignorance is bliss' is most certainly proven wrong in this situation," Ryuuzaki suddenly said darkly. "You speak as if you know everything as usual, Light Yagami, but you do not know the half of it. You do not know of this killer."

"But I will learn," Light said, feeling rather insulted after that comment.

Ryuuzaki shook his head. "I do not want you involved," he said sullenly.

"Then why the fuck am I here?" Light demanded harshly, making Ryuuzaki flinch. "Why was I called all the way from Japan if I'm only going to be asked to leave?"

"That was Watari's doing," Ryuuzaki murmured.

"Yeah? Well guess what, now that I am here, I'm not leaving," Light said stubbornly. "I'm going to stay here, I'm going to find the murderer and have him put behind bars, and most importantly, I am going to help you through this."

"Why?" Ryuuzaki asked in a small voice.

"Because you're my friend," Light answered. "And this is what friends do; they help each other through hard times."

"Friends…"

"Yes, friends."

"I'm not allowed to have any friends," Ryuuzaki muttered, lowering his gaze and hanging his head slightly, his ebony hair covering his eyes. "They'll just be killed."

"For fuck's sake, Ryuuzaki!" Light exclaimed. "I am not going to be killed and neither are you! Wake up! Yes, what happened to you is truly horrible and I understand why you're acting this way, but this isn't you! This isn't L. You need to wake up and fulfill your role as the world's best detective. A person like you can't just drop off the face of the Earth because you're afraid. You have every reason to be afraid, but to let that fear swallow you…to let it make you think you are worthless…that is just unacceptable."

"Just leave me alone," Ryuuzaki whispered.

"No," Light said firmly. "I'm not leaving you like this. I refuse."

Ryuuzaki's shoulders were shaking slightly and Light raised his eyebrows. Was he…crying? He frowned slightly, feeling a bit guilty and took a step closer to his friend. "Hey…come on Ryuuzaki," he said in a gentle voice.

Ryuuzaki did not move, he just remained with his gaze lowered, eyes shadowed by dark hair and shoulders shaking. Light reached out and patted Ryuuzaki's uninjured shoulder lightly and Ryuuzaki flinched but did not move away from the touch. Knowing that he was probably pushing his luck, Light let his hand wander to Ryuuzaki's back where he rubbed soothing circles to try and calm the detective down.

Ryuuzaki tensed up from the contact and Light paused, ready to draw his hand back at the first word of protest, but Ryuuzaki said nothing so Light continued to gently rub his back until the shaking of his shoulders subsided. The detective finally looked up at Light and Light could see a trail of wetness down his cheeks where tears had fallen. He looked so lost and helpless, like a small child abandoned by his parents and facing the world alone. Light felt a throb of pity in his heart and longed to just embrace this man but resisted knowing it would only cause trouble.

He did, however, keep his hand resting upon Ryuuzaki's back and couldn't help the small feeling of wonder that came with this contact. During the time they had spent together working on the Kira Case, the only time Light had ever really touched Ryuuzaki was when they were fighting and his fist had been crashing into the detective's face. However, despite everything else they had never touched. He had spent four months handcuffed to the man and though he naturally had had some fantasies after having to share a bed with him, none of these fantasies ever came close to becoming real and he was easily able to forget them in the morning when Ryuuzaki woke him at an unreasonable hour.

Light was not thankful that he was able to touch this man now. He would much prefer never laying a hand on him and Ryuuzaki never having to feel this pain. He sighed heavily and continued rubbing those circles into Ryuuzaki's back and blinked when he felt an unfamiliar weight press against his stomach. Ryuuzaki had leaned forward slightly in bed and was now resting against Light. The younger man's eyes widened and he just stared at the detective openly.

"You must think…that I am more than pathetic," Ryuuzaki mumbled darkly.

"No I don't," Light answered truthfully. "Ryuuzaki…I'd probably behave the same way…if something like this happened to me."

"I should have prevented it…"

"You can't change the past," Light said a bit sharply. "What's past is past and the only thing you can do is move on and make sure you don't relive bad memories."

"Light…I'm sorry…I just feel so…useless," Ryuuzaki sighed heavily. "I cannot find the motivation to move on."

Light almost wanted to ask him if he wanted him to punch him in the face again, however, confronting Ryuuzaki with any violence whatsoever was probably not a good idea and so he kept the comment to himself. Besides, there really was no reason to injure the detective further.

"Right now, maybe," Light said kindly. "But I know you better than you may think, Ryuuzaki, I know you're not going to be like this forever."

"How do you know?" Ryuuzaki asked bitterly.

"Because you're a stubborn bastard," Light said with an innocent smile.

Ryuuzaki blinked and pulled away from Light and frowned slightly. Light chuckled. "Aww don't be mad at me, I was just teasing you," he said humorously.

"I am not mad at you," Ryuuzaki said.

"Well that's good to know," Light replied, deciding to keep this lighter tone going.

Ryuuzaki sighed and glanced at his right wrist. Although Light was burning to know what was on the skin there he had resisted trying to look while bandaging the detective. Even now he kept his eyes on Ryuuzaki's pale, haunted face as he studied his wrist. Finally Ryuuzaki sighed again and looked up at Light.

"Look," he said, holding his wrist out to Light.

Light blinked, somewhat surprised at the order but complied glancing at Ryuuzaki's wrist. Two letters were carved into the skin: BB. He frowned and glanced up at Ryuuzaki.

"Initials?" he asked.

Ryuuzaki nodded, a rather miserable expression set upon his face. "Yes, to show…that…he owns me," he said softly.

Light raised a slender eyebrow. "Stop right there," he said firmly. "If someone carving their initials into your wrist determines ownership then you definitely need to wake up. Ryuuzaki, whoever this killer is he doesn't own you, no one can own you unless you give yourself to them. Did you give yourself to this murderer?"

"I succumbed, Light," Ryuuzaki admitted sadly. "I could not take it…it hurt so much," his voice started to shake, "I've never felt…pain like that before. And he wouldn't stop…he wouldn't stop…"

"Ryuuzaki…"

"I couldn't fight him off…I tried so hard, but I couldn't get him off," Ryuuzaki's eyes were opened wide and his face had paled further, his body overcome by tremors once more. "It was like a game to him…he wouldn't stop laughing…"

Light felt his own eyes widened. How could anyone be so sadistic? Ryuuzaki suddenly brought his hands up to his face and covered his eyes, his teeth clenched together and his chest heaving. Light couldn't stop himself, he leaned in and gently, very gently wrapped his arms around Ryuuzaki.

"No," Ryuuzaki moaned. "Please don't touch me…"

Light held on to him. "It's okay, Ryuuzaki," he whispered. "I'm here to protect you, nothing more."

Ryuuzaki was shaking like a leaf in his arms and Light couldn't be sure whether it was his memories or the contact that was causing it. He sighed and gently stroked Ryuuzaki's back, hoping that he could provide any comfort for his stricken friend.

"Ryuuzaki…" he whispered. "You don't have to be afraid anymore. I'm here for you, I won't let anything harm you."

"L-Light…" Ryuuzaki stammered.

There was a moment of complete silence and then Ryuuzaki actually leaned in closer to Light and buried his face in Light's sweater. Light took this to mean he was okay to hold him a little firmer since he arms were hardly around the detective in the first place. He wrapped them about the frail figure, bringing one hand up to gently stroke Ryuuzaki's wild hair.

"You'll be all right, Ryuuzaki," Light whispered. "I promise."

He sat there on Ryuuzaki's bed, the detective leaning into his chest, one arm wrapped firmly about the thin man, his free hand brushing through ebony locks as he rocked Ryuuzaki back and forth very gently, like he used to do with Sayu when she came into his room after suffering a nightmare. Ryuuzaki did not hug him back, but the fact that he was letting Light hold him was enough. It gave Light hope that Ryuuzaki would indeed recover in time.

* * *

**Silent Dagger:** Yay, L isn't freaking out as badly around Light. I must say, writing an innocent Light is so refreshing!


	5. Relocation

**Ab Aeterno**

**Silent Dagger:** I'm glad everyone liked the last chapter! Unfortunately I have to ruin the sweet mood…sorry!! Oh, just so you know there's a lot of POV changes in this chapter.

Sorry I didn't write individual responses to reviews for this chapter but I am just anxious to get it uploaded. Just know that each and every one of your reviews put a smile on my face and I really, really appreciate them. They're keeping me going for real! Thank you all and I hope you like the chapter!!

* * *

**Chapter Four: Relocation**

It coated the skin of his hands, sticking to the flesh like warm blood, sliding slowly between his fingertips, leaving thick stains of red across his pale skin. Equally red eyes followed the slow descent of the jam as it smoothly slid down his pale hand, making its steady way down his wrist. He watched it until it reached the sleeve of his white shirt and then slowly brought the hand to his pale lips. His tongue emerged from behind his teeth, contacting his wrist as he slowly moved his hand down, weaving a straight path for his tongue as it glided upon the flesh, curling around the sweet jam that he swallowed with relish.

_Not as sweet and satisfying as your blood, but it will do for now_ he thought darkly.

Just imagining the scene again, a scene that had been playing over and over in Beyond Birthday's mind made him shiver in delight. L pinned under him, L's face flushed with pain, L submitting to him. He had finally done it. After years and years of fantasizing about L groveling at his feet, Beyond had finally accomplished his goal. He owned the world's greatest detective. He had defeated him, broken him, left him in ruined pieces. And how would his little pet recover? L never allowed anyone close; he would have to do it for himself.

_It's not possible…he'll be broken forever. A pity really, but a delicious thought all the same. Still…_

Beyond's lips curled into such an unpleasant smile that everyone in the near vicinity could not help but notice and shudder at. He was sitting on a small bench in the park and more and more people were nervously skittering about the bench, as though they did not want to be anywhere near it. Well, Beyond could not blame them. After all, seeing a man crouched upon a bench, bare feet rubbing together, one hand clutching a half-empty jar of jam while the other hand was covered with the substance made for a rather intimidating sight. Not to add in the fact that his black hair was in wild disarray and he had a slightly manic smile set upon his deathly pale face.

The reason for this smile was quite simple. It had happened somewhere along that lovely little encounter he had had with L. His original plan was to find L, break him and kill him. Indeed when he had first seen the detective slouching past the alley he had conveniently been hiding in, his lifespan had been incredibly short. In fact, unless B was mistaken, that number hadn't increased until after B had first penetrated him. That tight heat, that startled cry of pain, had been so delectable that in that moment Beyond Birthday had decided not to end things so quickly.

If at all…

He wanted L so shattered that the detective would have nothing to live for but B. He wanted L to pine for nothing more than one kind word, one gentle caress, one caring kiss. He wanted L to flinch with one raised tone, to beg for mercy after one sharp hit, to be nothing but his little pet. Ohhh the thought of being able to beckon L forth with one crook of the finger, to see him literally crawl towards his master with the fierce look of desperate hope that if he did what Beyond asked of him, he would not be punished. He would take the name L for his own; his dear sweet Lawliet would just remain his plaything while he took control of the world.

Beyond chased these thoughts out of his head. He shifted a bit uncomfortably and realized that thinking about it alone had made him slightly hard. He chuckled darkly. Ohh L Lawliet, his beautiful pet, he was already anxious for their next meeting. In the mean time, he would continually remind L of his presence with the bodies he left behind, painful reminders of what Beyond would do to him if he did not obey him. If Beyond had been paying attention to the steady flow of people walking just outside the park, he would have caught a glimpse of someone who would eventually become a great obstacle in his plans. Luckily for that person, Beyond's eyes were closed in an almost childlike delight as he continued eating his jam.

* * *

Light was just passing the public park as he made his way back to the hotel room. He had made progress, he knew he had. He had been allowed to hold Ryuuzaki in his arms for a few moments until the detective started to feel very uncomfortable so Light had released him quickly so as not to cause him any more pain. He had been dismissed afterwards, rather bluntly which had driven off some hope that he was helping, but as he was leaving the room, Ryuuzaki had softly called his name and Light had turned to look at him.

Ryuuzaki hadn't been looking at him and his voice was almost so soft that Light couldn't hear him, but the detective had managed to casually ask if Light would be back tomorrow. Light smiled to himself as the memory filled his mind. He assured Ryuuzaki that he would be and then had headed back to the hotel so that he could begin working on the case. The sooner he caught this bastard the better. He had a feeling that even if Ryuuzaki recovered enough to help him on the case, he would not be able to fully get past what had happened unless this criminal was brought to justice. What Light needed to do was contact Watari and get any information he could on this murderer since they both seemed to know who it was already.

When he returned to the hotel room he saw a stack of papers place neatly on the dresser and immediately went over to them. He grabbed the lot of them and sat down at the foot of the bed and began to look through them. As requested there were scenes of the murders and Light felt his stomach twist unpleasantly as he studied them. Whoever had done this, seriously had no respect for human life. Though the photos were all grotesque, Light's highly trained eye could see just how meticulous everything was. To someone just glancing at the photos it would seem as if the people had simply been torn apart, but to Light, he could see the method, the care used to make everything just so.

However, even though he could tell that much he couldn't see the motive behind this. The people murdered had no connection whatsoever, they were found in random locations, at different times. He read through the reports. Apparently they had been killed with different weapons as well. So then what was the reason behind this? He remembered Ryuuzaki saying something about it being practice, practice meant to be taken out on Ryuuzaki himself at some point. Light narrowed his eyes. If anyone tried to do this to L he would make them pay dearly. He blinked and shook his head. What…was that? Ryuuzaki was his friend to be sure but such a thought….well it surprised him slightly. Light could never do something like this murderer had done, he could never kill anyone. Send them to prison, yes, anything beyond that was not in his hands.

He made it to the end of the case file and blinked. There was a note addressed to him. Light glanced at the name signed at the bottom. Watari. Curious, his eyes traveled back to the top of the page and he began to read.

_Light-kun,_

_If we want to have any hope in catching this murderer you shall have to be informed as to who he is. I cannot give you all the details surrounding where he came from or where he and Ryuuzaki met for the simple reason that such information can never be printed in any way. However, I digress. _

_This killer was created because of me. I met Ryuuzaki when he was only eight years old and recognized his potential right away. L soon became a very important figure in the world, a figure that had to be around no matter what. I decided that successors had to be chosen in case anything happened. The murderer was one such successor that I brought in. He went by the name B and I did not realize the danger lurking within him._

_Ryuuzaki came to me one night, no more than twelve years old, expressing concern over B. The two had never quite gotten along as well as I (and probably B) had hoped. Ryuuzaki has always been rather reclusive, B was unnaturally fascinated with him the moment he met him. B started following L around and L was, needless to say, upset over this. That night L came to me he told me something disturbing. B, already similar to L in appearance, had dressed in L's clothing and had smashed the mirror in L's room, telling L that he needed no mirrors, that B would be his mirror._

_Obviously concerned, I spoke to B though I think my words had no effect on him. He continued to follow L around and L just ended up ignoring him and pretending he didn't exist. Soon after, L left and B became a different person, or perhaps it was just his true nature finally coming through. He became violent, short tempered and unusually quiet. Soon after he disappeared and did not resurface until the year 2002, two years before the Kira case. During that time, L was working on the L.A. B.B. Serial Murder Cases with Naomi Misora. B was defeated, his plan to be better than L collapsed around him. _

_However, B has managed to escape prison and has now come to finish that which he started six years ago. As you can see, he's succeeding. We must stop him at all costs._

_ Watari_

Light reread the note several times. L and B. The world's greatest detective and his successor. One stood for justice, while the other tried to deny everything the other believed in. L had known the murderer for years, since he was a child, they had grown up together. Apparently this murderer had been dangerously interested in L the entire time…no, more like obsessed.

He had come to England then, once he escaped from prison, and had hunted Ryuuzaki down. How he had managed to pinpoint the elusive detective's location was beyond him, though it did concern him as to Ryuuzaki's safety. If B could find him in England, he could find what hospital he was being kept at. He shook his head. Watari must have seen to security measures.

Light looked back at the photos. Someone who was supposed to replace L if anything happened to him…he shook his head, such a person should never have been considered to be given that much power if this is what he was capable of. Light knew Kira's capability to kill had been greater, after all, he had simply needed a face and a name, still…whoever B laid his hands on was facing a much worse death than Kira could ever imagine. To Light, they were equally dangerous and his desire to catch B was as strong as his desire to catch Kira.

* * *

_"You can never stop thinking about me…because I own you!"_

L's eyes snapped opened and he sat up quickly, his chest heaving and his brow covered in a cold sweat. He took a few minutes to calm down, getting his breathing under control before grabbing the glass of water by his bed and taking a large gulp. He set the glass down and drew his knees up to his chest, sitting in a way that resembled his usual crouch.

Beyond's voice echoed through his head. Painful throbs still raced through his body, reminding him of what happened, reminding him of how worthless he was. He frowned. Worthless…that's the only thing he could think of to describe himself. But no matter how convinced he was of this, Light Yagami failed to recognize it. He continually claimed that he would never be worthless. His mind teetered dangerously, focusing first on B and then on Light, as though he were a pendulum swinging between the two.

On one side was the demon, on the other was the angel. Though L longed to be on the side of the angel, the demon was grabbing on to him. He felt a tight grasp about his ankle, he was being pulled into darkness. He fell through that darkness, falling endlessly until finally he saw him waiting for him. His arms held open wide as if to hug him, a sadistic smirk set upon his face.

He fell into his arms, arms that wrapped around him painfully tight, arms that would never let him go. He was picked up, the man carrying him sat in a chair and settled L onto his lap. His arms were still around him, so tight that L could hardly breathe properly. His hands settled onto his holder's shoulders and he pushed against him.

"Too tight," he whispered.

Warm lips were pressed against his ears. "You love me, do you not?"

The voice was distorted; L could not decide who it belonged to. He did not want to answer. It was so dark, he couldn't make out the other's face. Those arms wound about him tighter when he didn't answer and L grunted softly.

"Stop holding me this harshly," he ordered.

Those lips pressed against his neck now, and one of those arms finally released him. L took a deep breath, one that caught in his throat when he suddenly felt a hand press against his groin.

"No…I don't want to," he pleaded.

"You love me, do you not?"

L moaned as the hand squeezed him through the denim of his jeans. Those lips traced down his slender neck, coming to rest where shoulder met neck and nibbled at the skin gently.

"Nnnh wh-who are you?" L asked.

No answer from the person. That hand slipped down his pants and under his boxers to run slowly and playfully down his length. L brought his thumb to his mouth and bit back a moan, resting his forehead against the figure's shoulder. Suddenly the figure let out an all too familiar cackle and a harsh red light bloomed overhead. L looked up, his black eyes opened wide as they focused on Beyond's delighted face.

"Keep moaning for me, my pet!"

L pushed desperately away from B and fell from his lap, his eyes wide as he did not hit the floor but merely kept falling into further darkness, B laughing as he fell lower and lower. He couldn't stop falling because he was far too low to ever stop. He was nothing, absolutely nothing. He knew this, and soon enough Light would too. At thinking about Light, the darkness suddenly erupted and L found that he was floating, no longer falling, through a space of warm light.

"Ryuuzaki," a gentle voice said.

L turned to see Light standing not too far from him, which made him realize that he was once more standing. Light was holding out his hand and a gentle smile was upon his face. L looked at him hesitantly and Light waited patiently, not moving towards him, not beckoning him closer, just standing there with that soft smile with his hand outstretched.

"Light…kun?" L asked.

"Don't be afraid, Ryuuzaki," Light replied. "I'm here for you."

L looked at him for a long moment and then took a hesitant step towards him. He kept walking closer until he could reach out with his hand and touch Light's own. Light's fingers entwined with his and his smile grew warmer as he drew L into a loose embrace.

"I'll protect you," Light whispered.

"L-Light-kun," L stammered.

L started to notice darkness creeping in around them. It was all around them, closing in on them, surrounding them completely. He looked up into Light's eyes and Light looked back at him, no longer smiling.

"I'll protect you," he said again.

A far off cackle could be heard, but it sounded as if it was getting closer. "He'll kill you," L said fearfully.

"I won't let that happen," Light said, his voice brimming with its usual confidence. "You're safe."

L blinked and just stared into Light's amber eyes as the darkness started to overtake the light, hearing the voice of his tormentor drawing ever near. He began to look over his shoulder but he felt fingers grasp his chin gently and turn his head back towards Light. The younger man was leaning in close to him. L froze, he couldn't be serious, not right in front of the demon! Light drew closer and closer….

And L suddenly found his eyes snapping open again. He blinked into the darkness of the empty hospital room and then sighed heavily. This had been happening a lot. He would wake up, only to find himself falling into a nightmare immediately afterwards. He just…didn't have the energy to keep himself awake. He turned his head slowly towards the window and looked out at the pale moon. Somewhere out there was the demon and somewhere close by was the angel. One wanted dominance, the other wanted to offer protection. But L wasn't ready to give himself to either. Why should he place himself in Light's care? Why have the younger man's life be his burden, why should he let Light carry the burden of protecting him? If Light chose to get involved in any way he would be in danger. But L already knew from his experience with working with Light that he would never back down now. The man was determined and full of pride and the last thing he could honestly do was turn tail and head back to Japan after witnessing this. He would stick around, he would challenge Beyond Birthday and L could only hope that the two never met face to face.

* * *

"Can I help you, sir?"

Red eyes slowly shifted onto the woman's face and he saw her practiced smile falter. He smiled pleasantly enough and this seemed to relax her and she regained the confidence of an employee who had worked here so long that she knew she could get him to buy something. Pretentious really, but Beyond had come here to get something, he never just browsed.

"Recently a loved one has been hurt," he said. "I should like to get him something to show my sentiments."

"Ohh I am so sorry, will he be all right?" the woman asked.

_Not when I'm through with him…_

"Yes, I do believe he will be," Beyond said with a fake smile.

"Well I'll hope for the best," the woman said with a genuine smile. Huh, how surprising, to meet someone who actually gave a damn about a total stranger. His eyes flashed. How dare she, really? L was his to care about; no one else should even let their mind linger on him!

"Thank you," he said with a tight lipped smile that caused the woman to lose what little confidence she had managed to retain.

"Ummm so what did you have in mind?" she asked.

Beyond let his fingers trace gently over the array of flowers at the register. "Something long lasting," he said softly. _Just like our relationship…_

"Well, you know, if you want my advice--"

_I don't._

"—I always find that carnations--"

_Are a complete cliché_

"—No one can resist the beauty of a perfect combination of pink, white and red carnations!"

_If you're a mindless slob, maybe…_

"We have all sorts of carnations right on this wall here, from brightest red to purest white," she said, picking up momentum in her speech as she strode towards the wall as if Beyond could not simply turn his head and look for himself.

"He doesn't like carnations," Beyond said simply.

The woman's face faltered and Beyond turned his back on her and looked at flowers on his own. He came across roses and smirked to himself. What better way then to show his love with such a romantic flower? Heh, it wasn't really that kind of love, but he liked the notion of giving his detective a flower with thorns. His eyes paused and his lips curled into a smile when he saw a selection of darker roses, indeed they were almost black.

"A black rose…how fitting," he whispered.

He was aware that the annoying woman had approached him and had followed what he was looking at. "Ahh, an excellent choice. Do you know the symbolism behind the black rose?" she asked, eager to prove herself.

"Probably more so than you do," Beyond replied, running the pads of his fingers over the sharp thorns. The woman puffed up immediately and Beyond cackled, tilting his head to look at her sharply. "You don't believe me?" he asked rather viciously. "The Black Rose symbolizes tragic romance, overcoming hardships, or it may signify death or hatred, and they may even symbolize…slavish devotion."

The woman cast her gaze around, clearly looking for something to come up with but gave up and went meekly back to the register. Beyond turned his focus back on the flower. Yes, tragic romance…or forbidden romance, death and hatred, slavery, it was all just so fitting for his L. He picked a dozen of them and purchased them, the woman seemed far more down cast then before but Beyond didn't care, instead he merely grinned wickedly at her.

"Make your peace in two years, I just had a premonition," he whispered, slouching out of the store before she could say anything.

Now B wasn't one who would spend a lot of time working out what to say. This was not being sent to a 'loved' one. Not in that sense, not like that at all. He glanced at the little card that had come with his purchase and a slow smile started to lift his lips. He took hold of the black pen and rested its tip upon the paper.

_I still know where you are…_

And indeed Beyond did know where his little detective was holed up. He could just imagine him now, sitting on a bed recovering…his eyes flashed again angrily. Those damn nurses seeing to his wounds, how he'd love to tear their eyes out. How he'd love to remove them of their hands. Still, he supposed he could be merciful; he wanted his L to be in top shape for the next time they met.

He closed his eyes. What would L's reaction be if he suddenly showed up in his hospital room? Oh he could picture it now and it was a delightful thought. He shook his head, no…patience, he needed patience. Besides, he could have the detective any time he wanted. There was no need to be so forward yet.

* * *

Light woke up earlier despite having a rather restless night. He had been studying the case files late into the night and had fitful dreams and flashes of nightmares that he could not completely recall now that he was awake. He shook his head as he got ready for the day and then headed out once more to the hospital. His feet walked the same path, his eyes shifted over now familiar buildings as he continued forward, hoping that he would make even more progress with Ryuuzaki today.

He knew something must have happened the moment he walked through the doors and one of the nurses came striding over to him immediately. He blinked, wondering if maybe his bandaging job had not been done well enough, but the woman did not appear to be angry with him. He stopped and raised a slender eyebrow as she stopped in front of him.

"Your friend wants to leave the hospital," she said.

Light blinked. "But he's still injured," he said, caught by surprise.

"Yes, I know, that's what we told him," the nurse said with an air of impatience. "But he insists that he is well enough to leave."

Light frowned. Same stubborn detective. "I'll talk to him," he assured her and the nurse thanked him and then went on her way.

When Light entered the room he saw Ryuuzaki looked very disgruntled and though he did not really want to see L in a bad mood, it was better then him looking timid and lost again. Ryuuzaki looked up when Light came in the room and fixed him with a rather intimidating stare.

"I want to leave," he said instantly.

"Ryuuzaki, you're in no state to leave," Light said firmly.

"I have to leave," Ryuuzaki growled.

Light blinked, rather surprised at the level of conviction in Ryuuzaki's voice. So far as Light had seen, Ryuuzaki had been feeling too low to even try and assert his power. Still, leaving the hospital was stupid when he was still in this condition. He figured he let Ryuuzaki give his reason at least so that he could counter it and prove to the detective that being here would be the best thing for him.

"Why do you have to leave?" Light asked.

Ryuuzaki looked as if he was trying his hardest to suppress a shudder as a pale finger pointed to a dozen dark roses set in a vase on a small night table. Light frowned at the roses in puzzlement and then walked over to them.

"Who sent you these?" he asked.

He didn't get an answer so he turned to face the detective again to see him holding out a small card. Light walked over to him and took the offered slip of paper and read the brief message.

_I still know where you are…_

Suddenly the reason why Ryuuzaki wanted to leave was made very clear. The murderer…B, he had sent these roses. A clear strike at Ryuuzaki's already frightened state of mind. It was not just an empty threat either; the message finding its way here was proof of that. He knew Ryuuzaki still had to recover, but how would he be able to do that when he expected B to burst through the door at any moment?

"Live with me," Light suddenly suggested.

His mind blanked after that. Had he…really just said that? He Light Yagami was asking his rival to move in with him? For though they were friends in his mind, Light would never ever forget what Ryuuzaki had done to him during the time he faced suspicion. He saw those dark eyes, usually so penetrating and deep though now rather haunted, widen considerably with shock.

"W-what?" Ryuuzaki demanded.

Light cast about wildly for some plausible reason as to why he would even say that and settled on putting the reason on Ryuuzaki. "If you don't feel safe here then you should be moved to a place where you do feel safe so you can get the proper about of rest and relaxation. We've suffered through each other's company before, I thought it was a logical suggestion," he explained.

Ryuuzaki blinked slowly and examined him as if he might not be human and Light kept himself completely composed though he almost wanted to shift with discomfort.

"Light-kun is rather conceited if he automatically believes I will feel safe living with him," Ryuuzaki said softly.

Well…that hadn't really been what Light was expecting. "I didn't mean for it to sound like that," he said, trying to keep the irritation out of his voice. He was just trying to help!

"However," Ryuuzaki said choosing to ignore Light's previous comment. "If Light-kun thinks he can handle the burden I suppose I could since this place is definitely not safe."

Leave it to L to agree to his plan only after he made Light feel like an idiot. Well, that was settled, but how the hell were they suppose to leave? The nurses would be furious if he suggested taking the detective out of here. He narrowed his eyes. He was with law enforcement himself, he would be able to convince them. They also had Watari, if the elderly man knew about how much danger Ryuuzaki was in then he would surely help them out.

"All right, it's settled then, we just have to convince the doctors to let you leave," Light said.

"Call Watari and tell him to pick us up," Ryuuzaki said.

"We can't just waltz out of here, Ryuuzaki," Light sighed in exasperation.

He immediately regretted losing his patience for Ryuuzaki flinched horribly at his tone and lowered his gaze to the floor. Light sighed again and ran a hand through his hair. Yeah, this was not going to be easy.

"Sorry," he said. "I'll…call Watari."

He left the room and pulled out his cell phone. This was probably not going to be the most graceful departure from the hospital, but if Ryuuzaki really felt unprotected here there was nothing else to do but listen to him. Especially since the murderer knew where he was. If he knew that, then he could easily gain access to Ryuuzaki's room and even if the murderer couldn't kill Ryuuzaki here (though judging by those photos Light wouldn't put it past him) he had a feeling that even laying eyes on this B would be extremely detrimental to Ryuuzaki's recovery.

_"Hello?" _Watari's familiar voice came to life on the other line.

"Watari, it's Light Yagami…we have a problem," Light replied.

_"What is it, Light-kun?"_ Watari asked instantly.

"The murderer…B, he knows where Ryuuzaki is…he sent him a gift," for some reason Light could not bring himself to say B sent L roses, though he did not want to think of the reason why. "Ryuuzaki does not feel safe; he wants you to come pick us up."

_"I understand, I shall be there shortly,"_ Watari replied.

"Thank you," Light said, the reason for Ryuuzaki's rather spoiled attitude becoming clear. Watari never asked why when it came to Ryuuzaki's requests. The detective just had to say the word and it was done, though he supposed they had known each other for so long that an understanding must have been reached by now. Besides, it wasn't as though Ryuuzaki treated Watari like a servant.

He shook his head and entered Ryuuzaki's room to see him looking rather forlornly out the window. Light's amber eyes shifted to the roses briefly and he frowned. What kind of sick person rubbed it in their victim's face so much? With every passing minute he hated B more and more. He turned his gaze back towards Ryuuzaki to see large black eyes staring back at him.

"Watari is on his way," Light said.

"Thank you, Light-kun," Ryuuzaki replied.

A silence fell over them and Light felt a bit awkward. Ryuuzaki did not seem to be having the same problem as he had returned to looking out the window. Light frowned to himself and then walked over to the window himself.

"Looking at anything in particular?" he asked.

"No," Ryuuzaki answered.

"It is a nice day outside," Light ventured, hoping to start some kind of conversation.

"Hmmm," Ryuuzaki agreed.

"It will be nice to have a roommate again," he tried one last time.

He didn't even get an answer this time. Really, all he was trying to do was talk to him. Light wasn't used to being ignored. He was used to people clinging to his every word, hoping against hope he would flash them a charming smile and offer a complimentary word. Hoping that he was interested in them and would suggest talking again. Well, there was only one person Light was really interested in having a conversation with but that person seemed determine to just stare out the window. He sighed to himself, reminding himself to go easy on Ryuuzaki. After all, he knew there was no way he would ever know the pain he had just suffered and that he would have to be very patient with him.

They remained in silence until Light felt his cell phone vibrating so he took it out and saw Watari's number. "Yes?" he asked.

_"The car is out front, I called the hospital ahead of time…they are not pleased with these arrangements, but they will not give you any trouble,"_ Watari explained.

"Thank you Watari, we shall be there in a minute," Light replied. He glanced back towards Ryuuzaki. "Ready?" he asked.

"Yes," Ryuuzaki replied.

He shifted and slowly got to his feet. Light noticed immediately that his slouch was more pronounced, as if he had a great weight upon his shoulders. He was moving slowly but it wasn't his usual calculated movements, no, he looked like he was completely defeated and Light felt a throb of pity in his chest.

"Do…you need any help?" he asked.

Ryuuzaki shook his head and started making his way to the door. Light sighed and followed him, passing by him and holding the door open for him. Ryuuzaki didn't even glance at him as he passed out of the room he'd been occupying for a week now. Light frowned at the silent treatment but decided not to comment as they walked down the hall together. Light could not help but notice the looks they were getting from some of the nurses, who clearly did not think this was a good idea but obviously had no idea of the real danger.

Ryuuzaki was remarkably composed while they crossed the main lobby but once they exited the hospital, Light couldn't help but notice the way his eyes darted about him, looking around anxiously. There was a slight tremor to his shoulders and Light almost patted his shoulder, but the detective looked so on edge that he didn't dare touch him. He quickly located Watari's car waiting for them and as they approached, Watari got out and opened the door for them.

Light let Ryuuzaki climb inside first and noticed how horribly Ryuuzaki flinched when he tried to sit in his usual crouch and watched as he gave up on that and sat normally. It was the first time Light had ever seen him sit naturally…although he would have loved to see it four years ago, now it just made him frown and filled him with a desire to strangle B.

"Light-kun has a nasty scowl upon his face," Ryuuzaki said quietly as Watari pulled away from the hospital.

Light composed his face. "Sorry," he said.

"It was not upsetting…I was simply curious," Ryuuzaki commented though he seemed to drop the subject and looked up towards Watari instead. "We are going to Light-kun's hotel," he told him.

Watari nodded once and Ryuuzaki let his dark eyes shift to the tinted window. Light sighed and looked out his own window, glad that it wasn't going to be a very long drive.

* * *

They reached the hotel in twenty minutes and Watari wished them both a good night before driving away to wherever he was staying. Light saw how apprehensive Ryuuzaki was becoming from being outside and so he made his way quickly towards the hotel, glad that Ryuuzaki was matching his pace. They entered and Light led the way to the elevator. One silent ride up later, he was unlocking his room and let them both inside.

"You can have the bed, I'll send for a cot soon," Light offered even though it was a big sacrifice. He knew how important a good night's rest was and a cot would not give that to him as well as the bed.

"Thank you, Light-kun," Ryuuzaki replied.

Silence reigned heavily over them as they just stood there and Light brushed his shirt off pointlessly just to have something to do.

"Do…you want anything to eat?" Light asked.

"No."

"We could watch some TV if you'd like…"

"No."

"Are you tired?"

"No."

"…What do you want to do then?" Light asked, surprised that his patience was holding out.

"Nothing," Ryuuzaki replied.

Light took a deep breath to calm himself and forced a gentle smile on his face. "All right then," he said. He crossed over the room and sat down. He considered reading over the case files again, but he was not sure if that would be a good idea when Ryuuzaki was so close by. Instead he grabbed yesterday's newspaper that he had yet to read and opened it, letting his eyes scan over it quickly.

When the silence continued for a complete ten minutes, Light could not help but glance over the top of the newspaper to see what Ryuuzaki was up to. He blinked when he saw Ryuuzaki studying himself in the mirror. From what Light knew of him, Ryuuzaki didn't glance twice at a mirror, otherwise he would have noticed the state of his wild hair, but now, he was watching it so intently…Light couldn't help but remember Watari's letter describing the incident between L and B over the mirror. He longed to ask Ryuuzaki about it now, but he was still treading carefully around the fragile detective.

Ryuuzaki seemed to sense Light's eyes on him and he turned his head to look at the younger man. "What is it, Light-kun?"

"Are you all right?"

The question slipped from his mouth before he could call it back. However, since the time Light had been in England, he had yet to ask that question because he already knew what the obvious answer would be. Ryuuzaki stared at him for a moment as if he had just asked him to jump out of the window and fly and Light almost had the desire to shift the newspaper so that it would shield his face, though he would never actually do something so weak.

"Light-kun has gotten extremely dense over the last four years," Ryuuzaki said bitterly.

Light couldn't keep the frown from crossing his face. No one insulted his intelligence.

"Well excuse me for asking," he snapped. "I was only trying to be civil. You know it often helps to talk about things and I was simply offering to listen."

"Light-kun also seems to forget who he is talking to," Ryuuzaki said in that same snappish tone. "I am not one to pour my emotions out."

"Would you like me to just ignore your existence then?" Light asked sharply.

"Yes, it would be safer for you," Ryuuzaki answered heavily.

Light sighed and stood up, letting the newspaper fall to the floor. "Ryuuzaki, if we're going to be living together then you need to stop acting like I'm a helpless stranger. I wasn't serious when I asked that…it's just frustrating trying to help you when you don't let me in."

"I agreed to live with you, Light-kun, I did not agree to telling you every thought that crosses my mind," Ryuuzaki said a bit coldly.

Light felt his hand twitch but he kept himself remarkably controlled. "So sorry for even letting the idea enter my head," he said. "I shall leave you and your thoughts quite alone then…now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to take a shower."

Without waiting for a response from the detective (a response he was sure he probably wouldn't get anyway) Light crossed the large hotel room and entered the bathroom, closing the door behind him with a firm click. Stupid detective, Ryuuzaki didn't have to act over joyous or anything, but it would be nice if he showed at least a little appreciation for Light's hard work.

* * *

**Silent Dagger:** phew, that was the longest chapter of the story yet! I love writing psychos…I creeped my friend out with BB in this chapter (waves at lunabasketcase) I love you!! I promise I'm not crazy!!


	6. Learning to Live Together Again

Ab Aeterno

**Ab Aeterno**

**Silent Dagger:** Sorry it took so long to get this chapter out. Finals week is fast approaching. Blahh

**Thanks so much for the reviews everybody!! Sorry if individual responses slow down, but I just get so eager to upload chapters that sometimes I'm too lazy to write them all out. Each review makes me really happy and I appreciate every single one. Hope you enjoy the chapter!!**

* * *

**Chapter Five: Learning to Live Together…Again**

Light awoke with a slight groan, rubbing his side briefly as he sat up. The cot that had eventually arrived was narrow, creaky and hard as hell. Light had spent most of the night tossing and turning hoping to find at least some area of comfort so that he could drift off and focus on the case. After all, now that Ryuuzaki was close by, he did not have to go and visit him and his full attention could be aimed at catching B. He yawned and stretched before getting off of the low cot, glaring at it briefly as he walked past the bed and towards the bathroom. It took him a second to realize that no one was in the bed. Light froze. Where the hell was Ryuuzaki? He looked around the large room and finally spotted him sitting at the large window, looking out on the city below him.

"Couldn't sleep?" Light asked, suddenly feeling annoyed that he had given up the bed in the first place.

"No," Ryuuzaki replied. "I don't like to sleep."

"Well you'd probably recover faster if you let your body rest," Light argued.

"I take the recovery of my mind to be more important than that of my body," he said darkly.

Light blinked. His mind? Realization hit him like a punch to the face. Of course…Ryuuzaki must have been having nightmares. He suddenly felt guilty all over again. He was doing brilliantly at making Ryuuzaki relive his traumatic experience, and he had yet to even try yet.

"Sorry," he whispered.

Ryuuzaki only shrugged.

Light left it at that and entered the bathroom to take his daily morning shower. He paused when he looked at the mirror and blinked slowly. Why was there a big crack in the middle that looked suspiciously as though someone had punched it? Light frowned. Ignoring him was one thing, destroying the room while he was sleeping was another entirely. Light backed out of the bathroom and walked over to Ryuuzaki. The detective acknowledged his return with the barest of glances while Light crossed his arms angrily over his chest.

"Did you do that to the mirror?" he asked.

"Yes," Ryuuzaki replied.

"Why?" Light demanded.

"I don't like seeing myself anymore…"

"I've been patient up to this point, but really Ryuuzaki…that's just reckless and uncalled for," Light sighed.

Ryuuzaki shrugged again.

Light glanced at the detective's hand. His right hand was slightly swollen and the knuckles were bruised and cut. He frowned heavily. As if Ryuuzaki needed any more injuries…

"Look what you've done to your hand," he said.

Ryuuzaki continued looking out the window. "It doesn't hurt," he replied simply.

"Yeah…well you broke the damn mirror," Light fumed.

"I apologize that Light-kun will not be able to groom himself properly," Ryuuzaki said a bit scathingly.

Light suddenly remembered just how irritating the quirky detective could be. He supposed he should find this as a good thing. Ryuuzaki defending himself in any way was a sure sign that he was dragging himself out of the dark pit he had fallen into. Still…did he really have to take it out on him?

"That's not my main concern," Light said. "I need to know if you're going to go around breaking anything else."

He remembered the letter Watari had sent him about the incident between L, B and the mirror. Perhaps Ryuuzaki hadn't really thought about the event after it had happened, but now that B had returned maybe it wouldn't leave him alone. By what Watari had written, it was obvious that Ryuuzaki had been quite disturbed by the incident. So maybe that was why he had suddenly decided to take a personal vendetta against such a harmless object.

"I do not intend to, Light-kun…consider it a loss of control on my part," Ryuuzaki said wearily.

"…Right," Light replied.

He turned and stormed off towards the bathroom again and quickly undressed to take a shower. What was he going to do about this? He sighed as he turned the water on hot and tried to think clearly. He had a depressed, anti-social detective occupying his current living quarters, meanwhile B was killing more and more people in a twisted call for attention, he still wasn't entirely sure how he was even going to begin tracking this meticulous killer down, and it was early in the morning and he was already irritated. Not a good way to start the day in any case.

After a good fifteen minutes, Light stepped out of the shower and changed. He exited the bathroom, half expecting to see the other mirror broken out of spite, but Ryuuzaki had not moved an inch. Indeed if Light wasn't watching him closely, he would say that the detective wasn't even blinking. What was he looking at?

"See something interesting?" Light asked.

"I'm not looking at anything," Ryuuzaki replied after a minute.

"Want to look at some breakfast?" Light pressed on valiantly.

"…I'm not hungry, Light-kun."

"When was the last time you ate?" Light demanded.

"Approximately thirty two hours, seventeen minutes and fifty two seconds ago," Ryuuzaki answered mechanically.

"Well, that's too long," Light said. "Come have breakfast with me…if you don't, I'm just going to bring the food up here and I won't stop bothering you until you eat it."

Ryuuzaki's expression darkened. "Light-kun can be highly aggravating sometimes," he mumbled, but he stood up slowly all the same.

Well, he let Light have the victory but he still managed to insult him all the same. Damn Detective…

They entered the hotel dining room. It was moderately busy; most of the other occupants in the hotel were not up this early though the other early risers were milling about the tables grabbing what they wanted. Light looked around to see if there was anything sweet that Ryuuzaki may like to eat, but it was the standard eggs, bacon and plain muffins set up around the table. He glanced at the detective, but Ryuuzaki had a distant look upon his face and Light was sure that he wasn't interested in the food and wouldn't be even if there was a table dedicated to his favorite food.

"Ryuuzaki," he said, indicating that they should probably get a move on it.

His companion blinked as if pulled out of his thoughts and glanced at him. Light indicated the long table with the food before heading over, making sure that the detective was following him. Ryuuzaki eventually made his way over and looked at the food with some distaste written across his pale face.

"I know it's not exactly what you're used to," Light said, "but I really think you should eat something."

"Light-kun knows that I do not enjoy food such as this," Ryuuzaki answered.

"Yeah, but it's not as if there's much of a choice," Light pointed out.

"I could choose not to eat any of it."

Light took a deep breath. Really now, he had to learn how to be abnormally patient again. He had dealt with similar problems during the Kira case, but this was different. At least then Light could argue back against the detective as he damn well pleased but for now…well, he couldn't do anything that would be detrimental to Ryuuzaki's recovery.

"You'll only make yourself ill if you refuse to eat," he said calmly.

Ryuuzaki frowned and looked at the food in front of him. To be honest, Light was quite sick of the food here as well. He sighed and shrugged a bit.

"If not something from here, at least let me order something," he said.

"Whatever Light-kun wishes is fine," Ryuuzaki replied.

It was Light's turn to frown. That certainly didn't sound like something the great detective L would say. Then again, as he was now, L was Ryuuzaki…he wasn't ready to go back to being the world's top detective. He was about to just go the easy way and grab some food here but he noticed how Ryuuzaki's dark eyes started darting from one person to the next as more people filed into the room.

"Let's order something," Light said quickly, heading back out with Ryuuzaki following him.

They returned to the room after Light had grabbed a couple of menus from the front desk and he handed some over to Ryuuzaki before opening his own. He noticed quickly enough that he could only hear the shuffling of his menu so he glanced up at Ryuuzaki and sighed. The detective hadn't even opened the ones presented to him. Light decided not to comment. The one he had looked all right, definitely different styles from the Japanese foods he was used to, but they had a large dessert menu and fortunately they delivered because Light was sure Ryuuzaki would not set foot outside the hotel unless he had to.

"I'm going to order something from these guys," Light said, idly waving the menu. "Even though I think real food would be better for you, I'll order a lot of desserts."

Ryuuzaki only nodded and Light got up and grabbed the phone, placing his order (a bit more slowly than usual as he was not used to speaking in English) and then sat down again. Well, they had a good half hour wait or so…now what was he going to do? He didn't want to start working on the case now because he hated being interrupted so the only thing he could do was either pass the time watching pointless shows on television or attempting to converse with his sullen roommate.

"England is nice," Light said.

"Hmm," Ryuuzaki replied.

"It's certainly a lot different than being in Japan," Light continued.

"Indeed."

"Is this how all of our conversations are going to be?" Light sighed in exasperation.

"Probably."

Light frowned. "Well that makes me feel wonderful," he snapped.

Ryuuzaki only shrugged. "I was merely telling you the truth."

"Well you could be nice and maybe…try being a little more social you know," Light suggested.

"I am hardly in the mood to 'be social'," Ryuuzaki replied dryly.

Light unconsciously clenched his hand into a fist. What was with this guy? Here was Light trying to be nice for once and all Ryuuzaki had to show in return was being cold and ignore him? He hadn't complained about taking in the detective to keep him safe from a lunatic…in fact, ever since Light had arrived in England he had been going out of his way to be exceptionally kind to his rival. He was beginning to lose his patience fast.

"Fine, so sorry that I'm actually showing concern, would you rather me act like a total bastard?" Light asked waspishly.

"How you act matters little to me right now, Light-kun," Ryuuzaki replied simply.

"Are you trying to piss me off? Because you're doing a great job," Light said with a heavy frown.

"It is not my intention, Light-kun…remember you are the one seeking attention from me, you do not _have_ to talk to me," Ryuuzaki pointed out.

"Well what if I _want_ to talk to you?" Light asked stubbornly.

"Then I apologize and shall ask that you bear with me for the time being," Ryuuzaki replied.

Light wanted to smack him across the face, but he resisted. Well, if Ryuuzaki said it was only for the time being then perhaps he would really just have to exercise patience and hopefully the detective would start responding to him more. That didn't keep him from crossing his arms over his chest irritably.

They sat in complete silence for fifteen minutes until the phone rang. Light answered and then hung up, glancing at Ryuuzaki. "The food is here, I'll be right back," he said a bit testily. Ryuuzaki simply nodded and Light shook his head, grabbing the key to the room and leaving to go get it. He spent the time going down the elevator and picking up the food dreaming about screaming at Ryuuzaki like he used to do and by the time he returned he was in a slightly better mood.

"Here," he said quickly, leaving the desserts in front of Ryuuzaki.

"…Thank you," Ryuuzaki replied.

Light nodded and began to eat as an awkward silence fell over the two of them. He glanced at Ryuuzaki and was pleased to see him going through the food, and even more content that he finally chose a piece of cake and began to eat it slowly. He could hardly say it was a nutritious breakfast, but at least the detective would have something in his stomach.

Within twenty minutes they had both finished and Light picked up the boxes to throw them away, wondering why Ryuuzaki had chosen not to touch the pastries filled with strawberry jam but just figuring that he had been satisfied with everything else.

Now that eating was out of the way, Light felt that he could finally concentrate on the case. He'd rather not have to work on it in front of Ryuuzaki, but he really didn't see any other way to do it. He grabbed the case files and sat down at the small desk Watari had provided and began to pour over them. There was an interesting piece of news about a lady who worked at the flower shop complaining about weird people but it didn't seem that important so he began to look over the other information that had come in.

He was very surprised when he heard footsteps shuffling over to him and glanced over his shoulder to see Ryuuzaki standing there.

"What is it?" Light asked.

"It has come to my attention that I have not really been too appreciative of Light-kun's effort and would therefore like to assist him in this case," Ryuuzaki answered.

Light blinked slowly.

"Are you sure?" he asked.

Somehow he didn't think that now would be a good time for Ryuuzaki to jump into the case. The man was still obviously traumatized after what had happened. The detective merely shrugged and Light, knowing it was against his better judgment, nodded in acceptance to the offer.

He moved his chair over before grabbing another one and setting it at the desk, instantly being reminded of the time he had been chained to Ryuuzaki's side once the detective settled down so close to him. One pale hand reached over to grab the papers Light had just been perusing before the top corners were pinched between thumb and forefinger as Ryuuzaki held it to his face.

"This was him," he said instantly.

Light found himself blinking slowly again. "Huh?" he asked rather lamely.

"The woman from the flower shop complaining about the strange customers…the customer was _him_," Ryuuzaki said, his voice becoming distant.

Light wanted to smack himself in the forehead. Of course! The roses sent to Ryuuzaki from B! Light had a feeling that someone as twisted as this particular murderer would stand out in a crowd so obviously him walking into a flower shop would be something to talk about.

"But he let her live…" he said thoughtfully.

"Hmm apparently he threatened her indirectly, told her she had two years to live," Ryuuzaki said, continuing to read the report.

"Do you think that's a clue that he's going to attack her?" Light asked.

"No," Ryuuzaki said darkly. "He would have done so already and this statement was given to the police late last night."

Light decided that he would have to make a visit to this flower shop so that he could get a physical description of this murderer. He could ask Ryuuzaki, but that was probably a question best asked at a later time and he wanted to catch B as soon as possible.

"We need to figure out his pattern," Light said. "So that we can intercept him at some point."

"Light-kun has received photographs of the victims, yes?" Ryuuzaki asked.

"Yes."

"I would like to see these pictures."

Light really didn't think it would be good for Ryuuzaki to see something like this, but his stoic expression was enough for Light to know that he was being completely serious. He sighed and reached into the file and handed the photos over to him. There were nine victims so far and Light still hadn't managed to piece any connection between them. Ryuuzaki held each one up and studied it carefully. Light noticed a horrible tremor race through the thin detective, but he did not drop the picture.

Ryuuzaki suddenly tilted his head to the side and then turned the photograph to the side. His eyes narrowed in concentration for a moment before widening slightly. "Light-kun must put these victims in proper order on the basis of who was killed first," Ryuuzaki whispered.

Light blinked. How was it that after only a minute Ryuuzaki was able to spot something? He felt a stab of jealousy but stomped it out quickly enough. No, this was good that he was able to make observations. Light took hold of all the pictures and put them in order from the first one killed to the last. Ryuuzaki instantly hunched over the desk and spread them out side-by-side looking at….something apparently.

Light observed the pictures as well but all he saw was the same gore that had met his eyes continuously since he had started working on the case. Ryuuzaki reached forward and grabbed the first picture, his black eyes searching for something.

"…I thought so," he muttered darkly.

"I'll admit, I'm a little lost as to what you're figuring out, Ryuuzaki," Light said.

"Observe the blood carefully, Light-kun, what does it look like?" Ryuuzaki asked, handing the picture over to him.

Light furrowed his brow and looked at the blood carefully; something he had not really done because, well, it was blood and would naturally be there after the victim was so brutally cut open like these people were. But…wait…no it couldn't be. Now that he was looking at it carefully. Was the blood…forming a letter? Light held the photo up a bit closer and his eyes widened.

"Is that the letter 'B'?" he asked.

"Indeed it is," Ryuuzaki mumbled. "And this third photo the blood is in the form of the letter't' which is why I had you put them in order."

Light nodded and quickly poured over the photos with new intensity. The first one was B…the second. He paused and looked at it but he couldn't discern it. Remembering that Ryuuzaki had turned the third photograph, he took the second and turned it around. He saw it when he held it upside down. "This one is the letter 'y'," he pointed out.

"The fourth photograph is the letter 'h'," Ryuuzaki added.

Light grabbed the fifth and by holding is upside down and diagonally he was able to discern an 'e' from the blood. They worked quickly enough, getting through all nine photos and staring at the message before them, written cunningly with the victims' own blood.

"'By the time…'" Light read. "By the time…what?"

Ryuuzaki had grown horribly pale. "He's not finished," he whispered. "He's murdering people in order to leave a message."

Light didn't even have to ask who the message was for. He glanced at the pictures again. Well they had figured out a motive at least. Still, it wasn't enough information to find out who he was going to target next. All these people were unconnected and even Ryuuzaki hadn't instantly seen anything between them. He frowned and leaned back in his chair, crossing his arms over his chest.

"We need to figure out who he is going after," he said. "We figure that out and we'll be able to plan counter attacks against him."

Ryuuzaki had wrapped his arms about his knees and was staring straight ahead, his eyes focused on nothing.

"Ryuuzaki?" Light asked.

"It's impossible to figure that out," Ryuuzaki replied, "because it doesn't matter to him. He just needs the victim's blood to finish writing the message so why should he distinguish from one person to the next?"

Light frowned. If that was the case then this was going to be very difficult indeed. It wasn't like they could protect every single person in London. Far from it in fact. What could they do? How would they catch him? Well, first things first, Light needed to head to that flower shop and get the description of B. If he had that he could at least pay close attention to people he saw passing him on the street.

Light stood up. "Ryuuzaki, I'm going to go head to the florist shop and ask that woman a few questions," he said. "I shouldn't be gone long."

"…You're leaving?" Ryuuzaki asked.

"Not for that long," Light pointed out.

Ryuuzaki nodded rather sullenly. Light lofted a slender brow. Did the detective not want him to go? Well, granted he had just been focused on the man who had stabbed and raped him so though he was doing a better job at keeping himself composed, Light knew he must have been feeling a bit scared now. Leave it to Ryuuzaki to indirectly ask him to stay. He sat down.

"Hmm actually, now that I think about it…she'll probably have taken a few days off and would rather not be disturbed," Light said. "Not to mention she could distort her answers if I ask so quickly in the fear that B will return to harm her. I shall go a different day…I feel like we've made a big step already."

Ryuuzaki nodded. "You make good points, now is probably not the best time to seek her out," he replied. Was that relief in his voice?

Light smiled. Yeah, Ryuuzaki could definitely be cute sometimes. He turned in his chair slightly so that he was facing the detective.

"You know…although the circumstances are bad, I am glad that I got to come to England to see you again, Ryuuzaki," he said.

There was silence for a moment and then Ryuuzaki glanced away from him. "I'll admit, there is a certain peace in having your company again, Light-kun," he said softly.

Light chuckled. "And here I thought I was just coming off as annoying."

"Hardly, I said it before, Light-kun is the first friend I ever had and I appreciate his efforts."

"You know, Ryuuzaki, you're getting better," Light said after a moment's hesitation. It was a tedious subject and he was not sure if talking about it was the best thing, but perhaps if he knew the progress he was making it would only help him to recover faster.

"Do you think so?" Ryuuzaki asked.

"Yes, I really do," Light answered truthfully.

Silence.

"Unfortunately I'm not," Ryuuzaki finally said. "I may seem more composed on the outside, but inside I'm still screaming."

Light looked at him with some surprise. That was some composure then. Still, it made him feel a throb of pity for the detective to hear him say that. He sighed and though he longed to reach out and hug his friend to give him comfort, he resisted, knowing that Ryuuzaki wasn't really ready for a steady stream of hugs.

"I really wish I could help you, Ryuuzaki," Light sighed.

"You are, Light-kun, more than you know," Ryuuzaki replied so softly that Light almost didn't hear him.

Light blinked and, hoping it wouldn't ruin everything, he reached out slowly and rested his hand upon Ryuuzaki's. Ryuuzaki flinched, drawing his hand back very slightly, but then he relaxed and allowed Light to entwine their fingers together. Light gave the hand a slight squeeze and smiled at Ryuuzaki.

"I'm really glad that I am, Ryuuzaki," he said. "I want to help you. I know you haven't been broken, you're still who you always were."

Ryuuzaki's dark eyes widened at that and he looked away at the files still strewn about the desk. "I hope you are right, Light-kun," he whispered.

Light smiled. "Hey, this is me we're talking about, I am always right," he said in a humorous voice.

"Ah, I had nearly forgotten," Ryuuzaki said, playing along.

Light grinned. This was what he had been hoping for since determining that he was going to help Ryuuzaki. Conversations like this, being able to just talk and joke around; it was what he had been aiming for since he had arrived in England. He knew he would never be able to get Ryuuzaki to forget what happened, but if he could get him to move on then that would be enough for him. He missed the old Ryuuzaki, even though traces of him lingered within the man sitting next to him, he was not all there and Light, despite being constantly irritated with the old detective, missed that person more than anything.

More than anything? Light frowned inwardly. Perhaps that was a bit much, though Ryuuzaki really was the only person that he could consider a friend. Not only that, but if Ryuuzaki returned, there would be no Kira between them, nothing to make the other suspicious of the other and so their friendship could only grow stronger. Why was it so important to him to have Ryuuzaki as a friend? Light looked back on the time they had spent together during the Kira case.

They were equal. Perhaps that was the reason. Light had never met anyone in his entire life that was on par with his intelligence. And then Ryuuzaki had come along and Light had felt challenged. It was the first time he had ever had to prove his intelligence to someone because everyone else already knew how smart he was. And there were times, many times in fact, when Ryuuzaki outsmarted him (though Light had held his own and had done the same to the detective). Light did not particularly _like_ being outsmarted, though he did like a challenge because it interrupted the monotonous routine of his life.

"Light-kun?"

Light blinked, being brought out of his inner monologue. "Yes, Ryuuzaki?" he asked.

"What are you thinking about? You seem to have gotten slightly distant," Ryuuzaki wondered.

Suddenly Light felt slightly embarrassed and did not really want to admit that he'd been thinking about Ryuuzaki. He smiled and shook his head. "It's nothing, Ryuuzaki," he replied.

Ryuuzaki tilted his head but did not pursue the matter and instead went back to looking at the pictures still laying about the desk. A shadow crossed his face and Light sighed, feeling that the short, pleasant moment they had just shared was about to be replaced by more talk about the case.

"This never should have happened," he said bitterly.

"You can't prevent everything, Ryuuzaki," Light said gently.

"If there is one thing I wish I had been able to prevent, it is this," Ryuuzaki sighed. He paused for a long moment and then averted his gaze, his eyes locking on the window again. "I have never felt so utterly beaten before, Light-kun."

Light supposed it was a good thing Ryuuzaki was talking about it, even if he did seem to be slipping further and further away from him. He did not quite know what to say. Tell Ryuuzaki that he hadn't lost completely? He knew the detective would just fix him with a glare and that would be that.

"…I don't know what to do anymore, Light-kun," Ryuuzaki said quietly. "Every time I think about it my heart starts to race. I've never been afraid to die, but I never calculated this happening before…"

"It's all right to be afraid, Ryuuzaki, all humans are," Light pointed out.

"Yes…I suppose," Ryuuzaki trailed off. "But what I am, Light…" here he paused and sighed heavily. "The world does not see L as a human."

"That is because the world has not had the fortune to meet you," Light replied. "I know you are human, and so far as the world is concerned, they never have to know otherwise anyway."

Ryuuzaki drew his knees closer to his chest. "I don't feel human anymore," he whispered. "I feel…like I'm something lower."

Light frowned and placed a hand firmly on Ryuuzaki's shoulder. The detective flinched and shied away slightly, but Light did not pull back. "Ryuuzaki…you are not lower than a human. No one is invincible, not even you. You need to pick yourself back up again and beat B."

"Beat him…" Ryuuzaki repeated. "I don't know if that's possible."

"You beat Kira," Light reminded him.

"This is completely different," Ryuuzaki said darkly.

"Well then approach it differently and figure out a way to defeat B. The way I see it, both are obstructions in justice. You've yet to fail on a case Ryuuzaki, you won't fail now," Light replied.

Ryuuzaki looked up at the ceiling. "I hope you are right, Light-kun."

"And once again we get back to the fact that I am always right," Light said.

Ryuuzaki did not smile this time, though his expression lightened slightly. Light gave his shoulder a gentle squeeze before he stood up and walked over to the window, looking out it much the way the detective had this morning, not really focusing on anything, his eyes not really seeing London spread out before him.

"Light-kun?"

"Yes, Ryuuzaki?"

"Will you continue what you've been doing?" Ryuuzaki asked.

Light glanced over him, lifting an eyebrow in puzzlement. Ryuuzaki looked away from him, as if he were nervous about answering the unspoken question.

"Will you…keep talking to me like this?" he finally asked. "Even if I am unresponsive…having the option to speak…helps."

"Of course I will, Ryuuzaki," Light replied.

"Thank you, Light-kun," the detective said.

* * *

**Silent Dagger:** Yay!! L is getting (slowly) better! I have big plans for the next chapter mwahaha


	7. Meeting

Ab Aeterno

**Ab Aeterno**

**Silent Dagger: **You have no idea how long I've been waiting to write this chapter. It's been in my head for a while. Also, this chapter does contain spoilers for 'Another Note' but I'll try to keep them minimal.

**Thank you so much for the reviews. I know, I must seem terribly lazy not to be writing out the individual reviews now, truth of the matter is, my wireless is really faulty so I'm just trying to get this uploaded and out as quickly as possible and I'm pretty sure the longer I'm on the internet, the more of a chance I'll be kicked off so that is my explanation. However, each review means a lot and I thank you for taking the time to leave one. Hope you enjoy the chapter!**

**Chapter Six: Meeting**

Light woke with a groan once more. This cot just was not cutting it. He felt that he was not sufficiently rested which would be detrimental to his investigative skills. How was he supposed to concentrate on anything when he wished to lay down in the bed and get some real sleep? Not that he really would, because Ryuuzaki, after days on end of refusing sleep, had finally passed out. Light had noticed him drifting in and out last night and suddenly, around nine, the detective stood up, walked over to the bed, curled up and fell asleep.

It had given time for Light to look up the location of that flower shop which he would be stopping by today after he woke up a little first. He had kept an eye on Ryuuzaki for about an hour to make sure he did not slip into a painful nightmare, but it seemed that the detective was soundly asleep and so he had lay down on the uncomfortable cot and spent another night tossing and turning hoping to get comfortable.

Now Light stood before the coffee maker in the room and watched lazily as the black liquid poured into the glass pot. He let his chocolate eyes travel to the other end of the hotel room and they came to rest upon the sleeping detective. Light had never seen him asleep like that before. He had seen him asleep in his chair once or twice, but never in the bed. Ryuuzaki had always been up before him, if he had even slept that is, and the bed never showed signs of him having been asleep.

Now, however, he was nestled under the blankets, laying on his side and if Light could see properly, he was nibbling his thumb lightly as he slept. Light could not help but smile. He looked so much more innocent when he slept. He turned back to the coffee and saw that it was finished so he poured it into the white mug and added some milk before heading to the desk to sit down and drink it.

He placed the steaming mug on the desk and looked at the pictures again, reading the message hidden in blood. "By the time…" he muttered quietly. By the time what? His desire to know what B was writing was like a fire being lit in his chest. Why was this man getting away with this? Someone like B, someone so vicious, the world would be better off without him. He frowned deeply. This murderer could think that he was going to succeed all he wanted, but Light hated to lose and he would be damned before he let B win.

Well then, there really was only one thing to do. He would have to get to that florist shop and question the woman who worked there and find out exactly what this murderer looked like. Then he would at least have some sort of idea about B and make him less mysterious and more human.

* * *

His reflection lay in wait. He thought that he was protected, safe from him. His little shadow thought that he had escaped his eyes. Foolish really, his eyes saw all, saw everything; they could not be so easily tricked. No, what had surprised B was not the fact that his pet had left the hospital, he had known he would after he sent those roses, what surprised him was _who_ he left with.

Beyond Birthday had seen it all. He had seen Watari outside the hospital and then his shadow had emerged, looking apprehensive…looking absolutely delicious and B had almost decided to step out from under the shadows to let him see him, until he noticed that delectable looking Asian man walking near his shadow had been walking _with_ him. His first reaction was a blinding red of rage that made him want to lunge from where he stood and _throttle_ that man. Who was he to walk with his L?! Who was he to dare get in the car with him?!

It had hit Beyond quickly after that. The two knew each other, and the Asian man, that figure of absolute perfection that enticed and sickened him was taking his L away in order to _protect_ him. B wanted to kill him, wanted to stick the younger man like he was a pig, cut him down the middle, bathe in his blood, force him to eat his own insides, anything, ANYTHING to make him pay for daring to be close to L.

B's fingers had twitched horribly for a few minutes after he had seen that, but he recovered quickly enough to get a taxi and have it follow Watari's car. He had stopped two blocks away when he saw where the classic car had parked and then had double backed on foot. He glared up at the hotel, wanting to simply walk in and demand to know where that other man was staying, but he could not. He had to be patient, cunning, he could not rush this, he wanted to enjoy it.

It hadn't taken long for him to find out what he needed to about his new obstacle. B had not attended Wammy's for nothing after all. He had broken into the hotel's database and easily located the only Japanese name at the time. Light Yagami. Staying on the seventh floor, room 719, where he was harboring B's pet for the time being. Light Yagami, Light Yagami….LIGHT YAGAMI!! Oh, B was going to kill him! He was going to tear off that pretty little face!

_Patience, patience…no need to let a dead man get you so worked up. Wait for it, let him think he is safe, let them both think they are safe. Strike at the appropriate time; learn more about your enemy first._

With that mantra passing through his head, B was able to hack into several Japanese data bases to look into more information on Light Yagami. Apparently he was smart, probably at his level judging by his test scores. He had attended the prestigious To-ou University and had gotten a perfect score on the entrance exams. He had graduated and become involved in the law. Boring, boring, boring…

B was about to pass him off as completely worthless until he saw something that caught his eye. A document about the Kira Case. Of course B had heard about that, he had known L was working on it and had therefore followed it religiously just to hear news about his precious one. His red eyes started to glow. Apparently, that perfect little specimen who'd been foolish enough to get involved had been mixed up in the Kira Case as well. This was obviously a secured document, because apparently Light Yagami had been suspected as Kira and proven innocent. But still, just the fact that Yagami could have been Kira…made his blood BOIL!!

He had taken L's attention! He had forced the detective's focus on him and solely him for so long! Even if he had been proven innocent he must have done something to spark L's initial suspicions and the thought of his L spending time interrogating him, _talking_ to him in order to find out, only made B want to murder Light Yagami more so than he had already.

So, B had taken to setting himself in a place where he could inconspicuously watch the hotel for his victim's appearance. He would make him realize his mistake and then he would kill him. Then he would get back to his message, the message he knew L must have noticed by now. He grinned to himself as he once more sat upon the bench, tipping back the jar of jam and sucking the remaining substance from the container and swallowing it happily.

* * *

It did not take long for Light Yagami to appear. B had been sitting in L's usual perch upon the bench when he saw him. His mouth turned down in disapproval. He was perfect…too perfect. Everything from his flawless auburn hair to his firmly pressed pants just screamed of snob. B wanted to see that face crumble, wanted to see that hair in disarray, stained with blood. He wanted that shirt ripped and hanging from his shoulders. B suddenly wanted to have a lot of fun with him.

He waited for the younger man to be some distance from the hotel before he hopped off his bench and began to follow him. His shoulders slouched and his hands shoved deeply into his pocket just like his little shadow would have done. The man was clearly heading somewhere; this was not just aimless wandering. B had the desire to force the man to turn, to acknowledge his presence.

"Light-kun," he called, knowing his L would use that annotation and after hearing L's voice so recently, he was able to imitate it almost perfectly.

Light Yagami did stop and he turned slowly as if expecting himself to find his mind had played a trick on him. His eyes found B standing among the crowd of people on the sidewalk and those amber eyes widened considerably. He blinked and just stared at B for a moment, hardly noticing the annoyed mutterings of the people trying to walk past him.

"Ryuuzaki?" Light asked.

Oh that was rich! L must have been using his name as an alias. How very sweet of him, B would have to show his appreciation later. Realizing that his L was probably still damaged, B knew he was going to have to act this way so he averted his gaze, which was probably for the best so that this dead man would not see blood red eyes instead of charcoal black.

Light made his way towards him now and B had to hide a smirk, keeping his hands firmly in his pockets as they were balled into fists, shaking in the desire to shoot towards that throat.

"What are you doing?" Light asked. "Did you follow me?"

"Yes, Light-kun," B replied, laughing inside.

"Well…I told you I was going to be right back," Light said.

_Idiot_

"But you did not say where you were going," B pointed out.

"I…didn't think I had to," Light replied.

_You're highly amusing, Yagami…_

"…It would have been appreciated, Light-kun."

"Sorry," Light said.

_You're no where near as sorry as you're going to be when I'm through with you…_

"It is all right," B said.

"I don't think it's safe for you to be out here, Ryuuzaki," Light suddenly said.

B nearly burst into laughter and damn this boy must have been observant for his concerned look suddenly turned suspicious.

"Who are you?" Light asked.

B tilted his head to the side. "I do not know what you mean, Light-kun," he replied.

"You're not Ryuuzaki," Light said with a frown. "Who are you?"

_Actually I am…Rue Ryuuzaki to be exact._

"I would have thought that you would know me after helping me solve the Kira Case," B said, keeping his voice puzzled.

Light glanced around as if to make sure no one was listening, decided to be safe and leaned in slightly. Dangerous, dangerous, all B had to do was reached out slightly and he could pluck those pretty eyes from his face. "I know you're not L," Light whispered, and their eyes locked, surprise flashing slightly in Light's as he saw those scarlet eyes clearly for the first time.

_WHAT?! WHO THE FUCK ARE YOU TO ASSUME ANYTHING YOU PRESUMPTUOUS, ARROGANT CORPSE?!_

"Heh, you're right, I'm not," B said, surprised at how calm his voice was. "Truth be told I am a proxy."

_Hardly, L is a proxy to me now. I own him and this bastard is going to be dead so it doesn't matter what I tell him._

"Oh, I see," Light replied, still sounding suspicious.

"I am helping out with the current case," B replied, once more holding back laughter.

"Oh? Do you have any leads?" Light asked.

_Here's a lead for you, I'm the murderer!_

"Not quite," B replied.

"How much do you know about the case so far?" Light asked.

"We should not discuss this in a crowded street, Light-kun," B pointed out, a devil's smirk crossing his expression inwardly.

Light crossed his arms and lofted an eyebrow. Hmm perhaps B had been wrong about him, he was beginning to think he had underestimated the boy slightly. "Sorry, but I'd rather not just go off somewhere, I have things to do after all," he said, though B knew the real reason. Light was unnerved by him.

"Ah, well in that case…" B trailed off. "I probably do not know as much as you do about the case."

_Actually I know far more than you ever will…_

"All I know is that there is a pattern to his victims," he continued.

_Mine as well give you some help that will nonetheless keep you completely in the dark._

"A pattern?" Light asked.

_Don't interrupt me! I'm about to tell you so shut up!!_

"Yes," B replied a bit coldly. "The victims have been male, male, female, male, female, male, male, female, male."

Light blinked, obviously committing B's words to memory. B smirked to himself, oh if only he had to worry about what B said to him instead of what he was going to _do_ to him.

"So…the next victim will be female," Light replied. He frowned slightly.

_Still impossible to predict the next one, isn't it?_

"Indeed," B said.

"But the problem remains that we still have no idea who he is going to go after next," Light sighed. "There are plenty of…" he trailed off.

"What is it?" B asked, actually curious.

"Did you hear about the incident in the flower shop?" Light suddenly asked.

_Ohh I remember that incident quite clearly._

"Yes."

"What if his next victim is her?" Light asked. "Do you think that could be possible?"

_Well actually I was going to leave her alone but now I kind of want to kill her just so you think you're on to something._

B made a show of letting his eyes widen and he nodded slowly as if considering the possibility. "You know…you may be right," he murmured.

"In which case we have to get her some protection right away, besides, if she truly spoke with the murderer she'll be able to give me a description," Light said.

_I thank you for keeping me so entertained, Light Yagami. You have no idea how funny this is to me._

"Is that where you are going?" B asked.

Light paused as if considering something. "No," he replied. He was silent and then he sighed. "I am sorry for bringing this up since it is probably irrelevant to the case but…why are you dressed like Ryuuzaki? No…it's not just your clothes…why do you look like him so much?"

_Because I am him and he is me you mindless, worthless piece of trash._

"Ah, I figured that would be brought up," B replied. "Because he was attacked it is obvious that the murderer knows his features…therefore I offered to…use myself as live bait if you will. I am more than capable of defending myself so if the murderer tries to attack me, I will bring him down and apprehend him."

Light blinked. Wasn't that extremely dangerous? This person looked identical to Ryuuzaki in every way, including his physique. Although Light knew Ryuuzaki was stronger than he looked, he could not help but think that this replica would have just as much trouble fending off this murderer. Of course it was not like he could just say something like that so he cleared his throat slightly and nodded.

"That's…risky," Light finally replied.

"Indeed, but it could be the only way to catch this murderer, Light-kun," B replied hiding a smirk.

There was a moment's pause and then B could not resist but to ask.

"How is he doing, by the way?" he asked. "I am one of the few who is trusted enough to see his face…so there is some concern in his well being."

Light looked at him as if appraising him. It was a look that made B want to drown him in his own blood.

"He's…getting better," Light replied cautiously.

_……..Is he now? Well that is interesting. I guess my lesson didn't really sink in yet. I will see you broken L, I will have you grovel at my feet, I will make sure I shatter you beyond repair._

"That is a relief to hear," B replied. That wasn't a complete lie, he would have been incredibly disappointed if his toy had to be thrown aside already. "Also, I ask that you do not mention me, technically I am not supposed to exist at the moment and I should be in awful trouble if it is known I met anyone else working on the case."

There was a sudden ringing and Light excused himself to pull out his phone, nodding to assure this strange proxy that he would not speak about him. It was probably not the best thing for him to continue lingering then if it was someone like Watari. However, he heard a shrill voice and figured it was no one important.

_"Light!!"_

"Misa?" Light asked. "Er…how are you?"

_"I MISS YOU is how I am!!"_ Misa practically screamed.

"I'm sorry Misa, but there is still a lot to do here," Light replied, throwing B an apologetic look.

B shrugged, sounded like it was going to be a long conversation. He locked eyes with Light and mouthed "We'll talk later," before turning and walking back in the direction he came. Well, one thing that had to be taken care of was that flower lady. Poor thing, but really…she only had two years anyway. Already having anticipated that he may need to know more about her, B had already looked up her address and made his way towards her house now.

* * *

Light wanted to yell at Misa. He had so many questions to ask the stranger who looked so much like L, but apparently he did not want to wait for the end of the conversation (a wise decision on his part) and began to walk away. Light did not know how he felt about this Ryuuzaki. There was something…odd about him. Perhaps it was just his red eyes; Light had never seen natural red eyes before. They looked familiar, but he could not place them.

He only half listened as Misa continued rambling about how much she missed him and wanted him to come home while he constantly told her that he could not yet return. She told him about a few of her shows and how she was being cast in a major motion picture and he congratulated her and she cheered for joy. She told him that his family was doing well and that they missed him and had been inviting her over for dinner a lot, which made him cringe at the thought of Misa getting so comfortable with his family.

_"How much longer is Misa's Light going to be in England?"_ Misa cried.

"I don't know Misa, this killer is very clever," Light replied. "We can't rush into things or we'll lose."

_"Light and Ryuuzaki will win!"_ Misa exclaimed.

Light actually smiled at that. "Yeah, we will," he replied. "I have to go now though, Misa, I was just about to do something important regarding the case."

_"Ok, Light!! Misa Misa misses you!"_ Misa shouted.

"I miss you too, Misa, good bye," Light replied, hanging up before Misa could get into her farewell serenade and take up half the day with it.

He continued onward then, his mind still reeling about the mysterious Ryuuzaki who had come up to him. He supposed he should trust him, but there was something about him that Light did not like. Perhaps it was just how similar he looked to L. He shook his head. He was sure that they would meet up again and he could ascertain his decision on the man then. For now he had to focus on the woman at the florist shop.

It did not take him long to reach the place. It was an odd feeling, walking into the very same place that the murderer had been only a few days before. He glanced around and saw a woman at the register. He did not know what the lady looked like, so he was not sure if was the one he sought. He approached the counter and smiled.

"May I help you, sir?" the woman asked with a thick English accent.

"Yes, please," Light replied, it was obvious by his voice that he was not from around here. He took out his badge to show that he was an officer and the woman pursed her lips. "I am here regarding the incident that happened here the other night," he explained. "I was hoping the woman who was here at the time could help me put together a description of the man."

"You won't find much help from me," the woman replied. "I'm Hailey's mother and she won't talk to me at all. The most she said was that he predicted her death in two years and for some reason the silly git believed him…as if anyone could _predict_ a death."

Light sighed, well that was disappointing to hear. "I see, and she is not here is she?" he asked.

"No, she's locked in her room at home," the woman sighed. "Fool of a daughter, I keep telling her not to let him get her so down."

"I take it there is no way I could talk to her then, is there?" Light asked.

"Not at the moment," the woman answered. "I plan on forcefully kicking her out of bed soon…if you leave me some sort of contact number I'll have her give you a call."

"Thank you, that would be helpful," Light said. He thought about giving her just the hotel number, but if B really did go after the woman and got that number, he would know exactly where L was. Therefore he wrote down his cell number on the paper she offered.

"I am sorry to trouble you," he said.

"It's no trouble at all," the woman said. "I just want her to get out of this little rut and you know, the sooner the man is caught the better so good luck, sir."

"Thank you," Light replied with a slight bow of his head. He turned then and walked out, unable to completely stomp out the feeling of disappointment. That had been a waste of time. The woman, Hailey, hadn't even been there and apparently she was not talking to anyone. Light highly doubted that he would be getting any calls from them soon. He had to decide what to do now. If he was right about her being in danger, shouldn't he at least have the local police set up around her place to protect her? Should he go back in the store and warn the mother? Yes…maybe that would be for the best.

Just as he was turning to open the door again, he heard a scream from inside the shop. A blood curdling scream that was full of pain and despair. Light rushed back inside to see the woman on her knees, the phone dangling from the wall and her arms wrapped around her as she rocked back and forth, trying to physically hold herself together.

"What is it?" Light asked, rushing over to her.

"H-Hailey," the woman stammered.

Light's eyes widened, it could not be what he was thinking, it just couldn't. He knelt in front of the woman, placing both hands on her shoulders. She looked up at him shakily.

"What happened?" he asked, firmly but gently.

"S-she's…she's….dead," the woman managed to choke out. "S-suicide…pill overdose…m-my husband…just f-found her."

The woman's eyes were opened to their widest, they had a glassy look to them and her jaw was trembling, her hands shaking as she continued to rock back and forth. Suicide? It didn't seem right. Light felt there was more to it then that. He stood up, pulling the woman to her feet as well.

"This is not the best time," Light said, "but I need to get over there…"

"A-all right," the woman said. "I-I'll drive you there."

Light glanced at the way she was shaking. "Perhaps I should drive," he suggested and the woman just nodded numbly and handed him the keys.

* * *

They got to the house to see some other police cars parked outside. Light opened the door for the woman, who had revealed her name to be Doreen, and helped her out of the car as she was still shaking violently. He led her into the house and a man saw them and immediately walked over as Doreen practically fell into his arms, burying her face in his shirt and sobbing. Light glanced around at the other police officers and they gave him suspicious looks.

"Who're you then?" one of them asked with a slight sneer.

"Light Yagami, I'm a detective from Japan," Light replied.

"From Japan? What're you doing all the way out here?" a second officer asked. Clearly they were not too keen on sharing the case.

"I'm working with L," Light said with a frown.

That cleared matters up, the police instantly warmed up to him and led him to Hailey's room. Light walked in and looked around. She was still laying on the bed and was a body bag was just being prepared. Light walked over to the desk besides the bed and slipped gloves on before picking up the bottle of pills that stood there. Sleeping pills, she had overdosed on sleeping pills.

He frowned. There was no prescription label on the bottle and it didn't look like it had been peeled away, it looked as though it had never existed. Light glanced at Hailey. There were no visible marks on her to suggest anyone attacked her, not in the usual places anyway, but he leaned in close, turning the desk lamp slightly to get more light on her. Light was observing her jaw and that's when he saw it, a slight indentation that looked like it had been left by a fingernail. His eyes narrowed. Hailey had not committed suicide, she'd been forced to swallow those pills.

He was about to straighten and announce this when he noticed something. The fingernail mark did not seem completely natural. It hit him suddenly; the mark was forming the letter 'y'. "B," he growled to himself. He'd been too late. He had predicted this would happen and still he had not been able to prevent it. B had won this round. He turned now to look at the other officers.

"Find anything?" one of them asked.

"Hailey did not commit suicide," Light said.

There were surprised exclamations from all those present and finally Doreen stepped forward. "My girl…what happened to her then?" she asked fearfully.

"Doreen…I'm sorry, Hailey was murdered," Light said. There was no easy way to deliver such news and so he had just decided to come right out and say it. Doreen sunk to the floor while her husband had to lean against the door frame to keep himself from doing the same.

"How do you know that for certain?" he asked.

"Her jaw…the murderer left a mark with his finger nail which suggests that he…forced her to take the pills. Also, the bottle itself has no prescription on it and it does not appear as though it had been removed, rather it looked like it had never been there in the first place which means the killer had probably stolen it," Light explained.

"T-this can't be happening…who…why?" Doreen stammered.

Light was pretty sure information about B was classified at the moment so he could not go and tell her who yet. "The same man who showed up at the shop not long ago," he murmured, his hatred for B growing intensely.

Light was at the house for hours trying to find any other sort of clues. Surprisingly, the room had been wiped down to perfection. Not even Hailey's fingerprints remained. It was more of a surprise to find that the entire house had been wiped down. Light had to hand it to B, the man was thorough. There was absolutely nothing to be gained from the house, which only proved to infuriate Light because that meant that fingernail mark upon Hailey's face had been left on purpose.

* * *

Light sighed as he made his way back to the hotel. He'd been gone for most of the day which was another added annoyance as he had not meant to spend so much time away from Ryuuzaki. He got back to the room and blinked. There was no sign on Ryuuzaki. Light closed the door and took a few steps into the large room. Where the hell did he go?

"Ryuuzaki?" he called.

He heard a door being opened and blinked slowly. Ryuuzaki had been…sitting in the closet. Light just stood there staring as Ryuuzaki stepped out of the closet, brushing his shirt off, not meeting Light's eyes.

"W-what were you doing, Ryuuzaki?" Light asked, completely bewildered.

Ryuuzaki didn't answer for a long time. He kept his gaze averted, looking towards that window and then he finally sighed. "I got afraid," he whispered.

"Afraid?" Light asked.

"…You did not come back right away," Ryuuzaki muttered. "I assumed the worse."

He had hid…because he thought Light had been…what? Killed? In a way it was…touching, even if Light did not like the idea of Ryuuzaki thinking he had been murdered simply because he'd been gone longer than expected. Light sighed and walked over to the detective, who was still looking anywhere but at him.

"I'm sorry I worried you, Ryuuzaki, I was tied up with something," Light replied.

"That was my first conclusion," Ryuuzaki admitted. "Unfortunately, the worse case scenario passed through my thoughts and I could not banish it."

Light could not help it, he reached out with his hand and placed it gently on Ryuuzaki's shoulder. Ryuuzaki finally turned his gaze away from the window to look at him for the first time since his arrival. They just stared at each other for awhile. Light wished he could think of something to say to alleviate Ryuuzaki's worries, but he was not sure what words could assure him.

"I won't ask you not to worry about me, Ryuuzaki," he finally whispered. "But I promise, no matter how long I may be gone I will always come back."

"…That is reassuring, Light-kun," Ryuuzaki replied.

Silence again, Ryuuzaki shifted a bit as the contact lingered and Light removed his hand, not wanting to add discomfort to the detective's stress.

"Did you learn anything?" Ryuuzaki asked.

"I went to the florist shop to speak with the woman who met the murderer. However, Hailey was murdered today by B," Light sighed, wishing he did not have to go into this until he was sure Ryuuzaki was all right. "It was passed off as a suicide, but he left a clue, the letter 'y' was imprinted on her jaw by his fingernail…he must have forced her mouth open and forced her to swallow too many sleeping pills."

"Did you have a chance to speak with her?" Ryuuzaki asked.

"No, I spoke with her mother, who said she was not talking to anyone. I was just leaving when she received a call with the news about her daughter," Light said heavily.

"That is most unfortunate," Ryuuzaki said.

"Yes it is," Light agreed. He was about to say something about how he was told a pattern, but that would involve telling L that his proxy had introduced himself when he wasn't supposed to, and if that man figured out Light had told L about him, he probably would not be so keen to help him in the future. "I think I have noticed a pattern as well, with the people being killed."

Ryuuzaki tilted his head to show that he was curious, and Light recalled the order that was told to him earlier.

"So far the victims have been in this order; male, male, female, male, female, male, male, female, male…and Hailey makes the new female…" Light said.

"I see," Ryuuzaki replied. "Then that would make the next victim a male," he added.

"Yes, but the problem is…who?" Light asked.

Ryuuzaki lifted his hand, chewing absently at his thumb. "The flower woman, Hailey, that was his most recent victim, we know it was him because of the letter left behind…perhaps we should start keeping an eye out for more strange occurrences involving a suspicious person."

Light nodded. "I was thinking the same thing…which means we are going to have to get our hands on almost every single news article we can find."

"That should not be too difficult," Ryuuzaki replied.

Light smiled. "I think we're getting closer to stopping him," he said.

"I can only hope that is the case," Ryuuzaki said. "We have to stop him before the end of the message, otherwise we lose."

Light blinked. "Why would that mean we lost?" he asked.

Ryuuzaki was quiet for a time and then he sighed. "This is not the first case I worked on involving B," he finally replied. "The first one took place two years prior to the Kira Case, in Los Angeles. He almost succeeded in alluding me forever, I would have been chasing a phantom had it not been for the help of a member from the FBI who figured out exactly what he was planning right before he got away with it. I have a feeling this is a similar incident."

Light did not say anything immediately, he was processing this information. So then they had a deadline, and they did not even know how much more time they had since the message wasn't clear enough so there was no telling its length. There were no such burdens when working on the Kira Case because it had been obvious that Kira was going to keep going until he had created his perfect world. Light frowned. A perfect world…and yet Kira had been nothing more than a corrupt business man looking to profit his own company.

"If that is the case then we have to start working harder than ever," Light said. "Right now we're a step behind B, we need to pass him and figure out his moves before he does them."

Ryuuzaki nodded slightly but said nothing. Was he feeling doubt? Light frowned. He was sure that with them both working hard on the case they would be able to outsmart B. It was clear the guy was smart, yes, but Ryuuzaki and himself were also very smart and it would take a lot to keep them in the dark. He was sure they would succeed. No, they had to.

"Oh, Light-kun, I took the liberty of switching rooms while you were away," Ryuuzaki suddenly said.

"Oh?" Light asked.

"Yes, I have noticed you do not seem to sleep well on that cot…therefore I had Watari reserve the top suite of this hotel, it will be far more comfortable for two people living there then this room."

"Oh…thank you, Ryuuzaki," Light replied.

"You are welcome, the change will be in effect tomorrow…and because you had a far busier day than I have I do not mind exchanging places as I am liable not to sleep tonight anyway," the detective continued.

"I don't mind sharing," Light said before he could stop himself. His heart froze. What the hell did he mean? No, he just told himself that he was trying to be polite since Ryuuzaki had done so much for him today. That was all it was.

Ryuuzaki's eyes had widened at that and his shoulders seemed tense. He shook his head slowly. "No…thank you, Light-kun, but I do not mind," he said quietly.

"All right," Light said, determined to make up for that slip of the tongue by not mentioning it again.

He wasn't sure if it was the thunder that woke him up or if his body just forced him awake, but Light's eyes fluttered open around three in the morning and he blinked sleepily a few times. He already felt far more rested than he had after a full eight hours on the cot, though this was not the time he would like to get up. He rolled over to get more sleep when he noticed a figure illuminated in the window by lightning. He sat bolt upright in bed but the figure made no move towards him and he thought the way its head tilted slightly was oddly familiar.

"Ryuuzaki?" Light asked his voice slightly breathy.

"Are you all right, Light-kun?" came the reply.

"Yes, you just scared me is all," Light sighed, relief pouring into him.

"I am sorry, it was not my intention to do so," Ryuuzaki replied.

There was something about his voice that puzzled Light. It sounded slightly shaky. "Are you all right?" he asked.

There was a long pause. "I am fine."

"I don't believe you," Light said immediately.

Another long pause. "It's nothing…I just had another nightmare," Ryuuzaki replied reluctantly.

"Well…are you sure you'll be all right?" Light asked.

"I do not know, Light-kun," came the soft reply.

"Is there anything I can do to help?" Light continued, hoping that the detective wouldn't just shut him out again.

"Yes, continue to help me catch B," Ryuuzaki said simply.

"Well, I planned on doing that, I meant anything that I could do at this immediate time," Light sighed.

"Just leave me to my thoughts."

"You're thoughts don't sound like a pleasant place to be right now."

"That may be so, but it is no concern of yours."

"Actually it is, because you're my friend, Ryuuzaki, and I care about the well being of my friends," Light finally snapped. "Why won't you let me help you more?"

Ryuuzaki sighed heavily. "Because the more you become involved the more danger you are in," he whispered.

"I don't care!" Light exclaimed. "Ryuuzaki, I _know_ about dangerous cases, I survived the Kira Case didn't I? So why won't you let me in?"

A long silence permeated the room once again. "Because Light-kun is my friend, and I worry about him," Ryuuzaki finally admitted.

Light frowned. It was a nice thing for him to say, but it was also throwing his words back in his face so that Light could no demand to know further. He could not know because Ryuuzaki wanted to protect him from the truth. Light knew better. He knew the detective just didn't want to open up. Not even for him.

"Is that it then? You're definitely not going to let me help you further?" Light asked.

"No, I am not," Ryuuzaki said bluntly.

"Right…well enjoy your brooding then," Light growled, just too frustrated to even remain pleasant at the moment.

He turned his back on the detective and pulled the covers right up to his chin and glared angrily into the darkness until sleep took him once more.

**Silent Dagger: I must say...I love writing B...so much lol. Anyway, I figured I'd leave you with something extra since it's been taking me so long to update my stories and I'm going to be focusing on 'In Paridisum' since I'm almost done the next chapter and want to get it out. Anyway, I'm leaving you with a small look at what's going to happen in the next chapter. **

**Yes it is impossible to say what exactly happened when B entered Wammy's...which gives authors a lot of leeway mwahaha! Anyway, next chapter is going to be about B's arrival at Wammy's and his initial meeting with L. **


	8. When the Past Collides with the Present

**Ab Aeterno**

**Silent Dagger: Sorry for the long wait for this chapter. I wrote the whole thing over the summer, couldn't upload it, read it, hated it and had to rewrite the entire thing xx Anyway, I'm trying to spend an equal amount of time on each of my stories, I'll probably be focusing on In Paridisum the most since it's almost done.**

**Chapter Seven: When the Past Collides with the Present**

* * *

Ryuuzaki said nothing after Light had turned his back on him with the intent to sleep once again. He sat in utter silence, even his thoughts far away until the even breathing of Light filled the room as the younger man drifted off to sleep once more. Ryuuzaki sighed and returned to looking out the window, the rain lashing against the pane heavily, thunder booming in the distance. He had not told Light the reason they were changing rooms. B undoubtedly knew exactly where they were right now, he'd been able to locate the hospital easily enough. This was a safety measure. B probably expected them to keep changing locations to mix him up. Indeed, they were going to make it appear as though Light checked out though in reality they were just changing the room. It would buy them some time, though Ryuuzaki knew B would figure it out soon enough and then they really would have to change where they stayed.

He sighed heavily. Beyond Birthday…B…Rue Ryuuzaki. The second child brought in to be trained as his successor. A had not been able to handle the pressure. He had ended up killing himself in the end. B…well, B snapped in an entirely different manner. He'd grown obsessed. He'd grown insane; the sleeping beast dwelling within him had reared up to show its fangs. He felt he could only prove himself better than L by being exactly what L was not. A criminal, a murderer, all to gain Ryuuzaki's attention. An almost desperate cry for it.

Ryuuzaki remembered everything perfectly. He remembered first meeting B. He had felt apprehensive about the younger man from the start, but never would he imagine that things would turn out this way…

* * *

_"L, we need to bring in another child," Watari said._

_L was still a child himself. He was only ten but he was more mature than most adults ever would be. He was sitting in the library at Wammy's, reading a thick book about law, one that he was thoroughly disgusted with but interested in finishing nonetheless. He regarded Watari with his dark eyes and simply nodded, though there was some curiosity in his stare and Watari caught it, sighing._

_"It's too much for A…he's breaking. We need back up just in case choosing A was a mistake," Watari finished._

_"Where is A now?" L asked._

_"I believe he has locked himself in his room and refuses to come out. Roger is trying to get him to get something to eat as we speak," Watari said._

_"I see," L replied._

_Even at this age, L was incredibly blunt and hardly showed any emotion towards others. It was how he was brought up. He'd already been solving cases for two years now. He could not get caught up with wasted emotions. He was justice, which was all he needed to be, nothing more._

_"Roger and I have been keeping our eyes on one child in particular. He's a bit odd, but he is extremely intelligent and his powers of deduction and observation are intimidating," Watari continued._

_"Hmm…are you bringing him here?" L asked._

_"Yes, we will be retrieving him in two days. His parents were recently killed and at the moment he is in an unsuitable foster home."_

_"I see, I will meet with him then," L replied, turning back to his book to show that the discussion had come to an end._

_Two days passed uneventfully for L. He was updated regularly about A's condition. Fortunately he had started eating again and was being slightly more social. L figured the idea of having another successor was a large burden off of A's mind. To be the sole one responsible for succeeding L must have been a huge responsibility. Especially when A was a few years older than L already. L could imagine what it must have felt like, to be dwarfed in skills by someone younger, though the thought was not concern and hardly bothered L._

_"L, he's arrived," Watari said upon entering L's room._

_"Very well," L replied. _

_He hopped off his chair, shoving his hands deep into his baggy jeans and slouching off after Watari. They entered Roger's office and L saw his second successor for the first time. Shaggy black hair falling to his shoulders, pale skin and a delicate frame, L noted how similar their physique was immediately. However, there was something different. His eyes…his eyes were scarlet, they were the color of blood. L immediately felt tense when he looked into those eyes for the first time. _

_The boy was about two years younger than he was and looked a bit nervous, but was doing a very good job of hiding it. He stood relaxed, composed, though his eyes were darting about the room, observing everything. L noticed how they seemed to travel to the spot directly over everyone's head, settling there for a moment as if studying something before quickly darting away again._

_"L, this is B," Roger replied._

_L studied his new successor. Back up in case A failed. B…it was a fitting name. L never spent much time with A and it would be the same for B. He was already working on difficult cases after all, he could not be expected to waste his time getting friendly with them. They needed to be like him anyway, not attached to anyone, to just fulfill their duty and have no other concerns._

_"Hi."_

_The nonchalant tone in which B addressed him surprised him slightly. Of course Roger and Watari would have already explained to B exactly why he was here and who he was talking to. When A had been introduced to him he had stumbled over his words, shocked that the boy before him was L, but B was just regarding him casually, a soft smile lifting his lips._

_"Hello," L replied blandly._

_"So you're L…and I'm your successor…" B mused. "All right, I won't let you down I suppose."_

_He was taking it far too lightly. L frowned inwardly. This was not simple job training. This was an important position. _

_"Please take this seriously," L said._

_He noticed how Watari and Roger glanced at each other, clearly surprised at how this meeting was going. When it had been A, there had simply been a quick hello and L had disbanded. After that they had hardly exchanged words at all. B, however, was raising a dark brow and tilted his head in a very similar manner to L's._

_"I'm sorry," he said, though he did not really sound sorry at all._

_L narrowed his eyes very slightly and only nodded before heading out of the room. He made his way back to his study, prepared to concentrate on a case he was working on, but he couldn't get the meeting out of his head. He shook his head, scolding himself mentally. It was the only real conversation they would have, L didn't have to worry about B anymore and B would be far too busy being tested and trained anyway._

* * *

_Apparently B just wanted to defy all logic. L had retired to his room for the evening, which meant that he was not to be disturbed. He had finished the book on law and was now reading one on forensics. He was just getting to a rather interesting chapter when he heard a knock on his door. L blinked in surprise. Roger or Watari would have simply entered the room because it would have been to discuss something important. Who would be knocking at his door at this hour?_

_The knocking continued and L frowned. "Enter," he said crisply._

_The door opened and B walked into his room. _

_"What is it?" L asked._

_"My name is Beyond Birthday," B simply replied._

_L blinked. "You are not supposed to give out your real name, surely Watari and Roger told you this," he said._

_B shrugged. "It doesn't matter, I felt like introducing myself properly since I'll be succeeding you."_

_L felt it again, that apprehensive feeling. Something about B was setting him on edge. _

_"Remember that the first in line is A at this point," L reminded him, hoping to close the discussion now so that B would leave him alone._

_B focused those red eyes upon L's face and regarded him for a moment and L was once again struck by how similar they were in appearance. If B put effort into it, he would look just like him. The thought did not make L feel any better._

_"A…doesn't have…" B began but then trailed off and looked away. "A seems to be in bad shape from what I saw of him. Very jumpy, high strung if you ask me."_

_L tilted his head. B had sounded as though he were going to say something much different than that for that was an obvious observation and not something L needed to have pointed out._

_"Is that what you came here to talk about?" L asked._

_"Think it will happen to me too?" B asked in return._

_L blinked, not liking this conversation in the least. "I do not know, I should hope not."_

_B grinned. "I was just teasing you…it won't happen to me," he raised a finger and tapped his own head. "I'm strong."_

_Teasing him?! No one teased him! L's expression darkened considerably. "I see," he replied. "If you don't mind, I am trying to read."_

_"How am I supposed to be you if I have no idea who you are?" B asked._

_L had turned his gaze back to the book before him, but on that statement he found his eyes shifting back to B._

_"You're not becoming me…you're just training to take over in case something happens. You will take the title L, you will not take who I am."_

_B didn't say anything, he simply nodded and L figured he would leave at this point so he turned back to his book. Only when he felt a weight at the foot of his bed did he look up sharply to see B sitting there, staring at him._

_"What?" he asked a bit snappishly._

_"Why do you sit like that?" B asked._

_"…It helps me concentrate," L answered shortly._

_To his annoyance, B shifted so that he was sitting in an identical perch at the foot of the bed. L longed to simply lash out and kick him off, but he resisted the urge. Meanwhile, B seemed to be deep in thought and then his expression brightened slightly._

_"Well what do you know…it sort of works," he said._

_"Mmhm," L murmured, trying to show how uninterested he was in B._

_"Hey…"_

_L decided to just ignore him._

_"Hey L…"_

_He turned the page of the book resolutely even though he hadn't been finished reading the page in the first place._

_He felt B shifting on the bed again and figured he was finally getting up to leave, but that weight moved closer and when next he looked up, B was leaning in towards him, invading his personal space more than anyone had in his entire life and making his eyes flash in warning._

_"I'm trying to talk to you," B said and he sounded slightly irritated at this point._

_"I suggest you go find company in A," L replied. "I'm not interested in talking to you."_

_B settled back on his haunches, away from L and shrugged. "All right, fine," he said simply, getting up and leaving the room._

* * *

_B had not visited his room again after that first night and L was immensely relieved about that. Two years had passed and the two had hardly spoken, however, his trepidation about B had not been alleviated. B followed the cases L worked on religiously, watching L's every move, an intense look upon his face. Meanwhile, cases he worked on he solved in record time, surpassing A easily._

_As for A, he was beginning to crack again. He felt pressured, oppressed, hopeless…first he could not match L and now the second successor, the one who was only meant for back up, was quickly surpassing him. L, now at the age of twelve, had already made a name for himself. Of course the world did not suspect that he was still so young, but already people spoke in awe of the detective L. _

_He'd just finished another case and had decided to go to his room early that night as he was exhausted, however, as he was nearing his room he saw B standing outside, knocking. He frowned, what on earth could B want with him? L did not like B. He wasn't sure if his hair was falling into place naturally or if he was styling it, but it looked closer to his wild disarray every time he saw him and he too opted to wear baggy shirts and jeans now. It was strange, seeing B look more and more identical to him with each passing year. But that could wait, L wanted to know why he was trying to get in his room. _

_"What?" L asked in his customary blunt tone._

_Instead of answering, B suddenly reached out and grabbed his wrist. His grip was incredibly strong and even though L twisted his wrist trying to break free, he couldn't. B started to drag him further into the manor, ignoring L's angry hisses and threats about what he would do if B did not let go._

_The younger boy led L up the stairs and towards A's room. Only when he walked in did he let go of L and simply pointed. L, rubbing his wrist angrily, followed B's finger to A's bed, where A lay face down. L only had to stare at him for a few moments before realizing A was not breathing. _

_"Go get Watari," L ordered._

_B left the room while L approached A's bed. He looked over his first successor. Death's icy fingers had already claimed him; his once fair skin was sickly pale and almost looked transparent. L observed the setting quickly and located the cause of death. Three empty bottles lay scattered on the floor about the bed. L bent over and picked them up. Sleeping pills and two different types of pain killers. _

_He heard footsteps outside the door and soon Watari and B entered the room. Watari took one look at A and then at the bottles in L's hands and sighed sadly._

_"Oh…A, this should have been prevented," he said heavily._

_L set the bottles down on the table by the bed and looked at B. "It's up to you now," was all he said before leaving the room._

_"L, we should bring in more successors," Roger said later that evening. _

_"You do not have faith in B?" L asked._

_"I am afraid that the same thing will happen with him that happened to A. Being the sole successor is too much of a burden," Roger explained. "I believe we should bring in several more, it's not safe just having one anyway."_

_"Do as you wish," L replied and with that said he returned to his room._

_An hour passed and he heard knocking at his door. He sighed. "Enter," he said. As he expected, B walked into his room. He expected his successor to be nervous about being the only one, to be sad about A's sudden death, but if he was, there was no sign of it on his face._

_"What is it?" L asked._

_"I'm better than A," B said with an almost fierce pride coloring his voice. "I won't end up like that."_

_L didn't say anything and those red eyes locked onto his charcoal ones, blazing with determination and something else…something dark._

_"You don't have to worry L," he said softly. "If something does happen, I will take your place, I will…be you."_

_"…B, I've already told you…you inherit the title…" L said._

_"Not who you are, yes, I know," B finished._

_There was a moment of silence and when it was clear that B planned on sticking around, L cleared his throat and stood up with every intention of just leaving the room. He was passing B when suddenly B's hand was on his shoulder, stopping him in his tracks. _

_"It's better this way…me being the one," he whispered._

_"B…A's death is not convenient," L replied coldly._

_"He was getting worse though," B pointed out. "You didn't see, you were too busy with your cases…I talked with him. Every time he was more on edge, more shaken up. He wanted to escape all of this."_

_L's eyes widened. "I should not have to ask this…but you were not involved in A's death in any way were you?" he asked._

_B paused and just stared at him. "No."_

_L stared at him flatly, not really believing him and B sighed. "What A did in the end didn't concern me. My only concern is you."_

_L took a step away from B but B placed both hands on L's shoulders, gripping him tightly._

_"L…I will succeed you, I will become the world's top detective, believe in me. Never worry about anything happening, I will be better than back up, I will be the best," B said, a feverish glow to his eyes now._

_"Let go of me," L replied._

_B blinked and released his vice-like grip and L frowned at him. "Remember B that your words only hold true if something happens to me and as I am incredibly careful I doubt that you will have to worry about it so much."_

_B's eyes traveled unnervingly to that space above L's head and he seemed to be calculating something quickly before they traveled back to his face. "Yes L, I understand," he said and there was a smirk playing about his lips then. _

_L frowned and looked him over. B was wearing a white shirt and blue pants, they looked almost as though B had stolen them from his own drawers, and his hair…his hair was more spiky, more like his own. "B…stop dressing up as me," he growled._

_"So you noticed," B said triumphantly. He grabbed L's shoulders again and spun him around so that he was behind them and they were both facing L's mirror. "Look," B commanded, standing behind L, gazing intently into the mirror._

_L did look and two identical figures looked back. "I fail to find any amusement in this B and if you do not cease these antics I will grow forceful with you," L said, glaring at B through the mirror._

_B only smirked again and shoved L deeper into the bedroom before punching the mirror. Glass shattered and fell to the floor and buried itself into B's knuckles, the blood staining his pale hand. He did not wince from the pain he only turned his head to look at L._

_"You need no mirrors…I will be your mirror," B whispered._

_"We're finished here," L said._

_B didn't seem to hear him. Instead he just walked closer to him and looked into his eyes. "The one thing that tells us apart," he whispered. He lifted his hand as if to brush his fingers across L's cheek but L fixed him with such a glare that the hand returned to B's side._

_"Just get out," L snapped._

_"As you wish…" B replied._

_L waited at least half an hour after B had left before he quickly left his room to go tell Watari about the incident._

* * *

_Four years had passed since the mirror incident. L had rather hoped that it had just been A's death that had made B act that way, but unfortunately for him, B had decided to continuing copying him. It wasn't only the fact that he was dressing up as him though. He was starting to memorize and mime L's habits. From the way he sat, to the way he held things, even his diet, though he took a particular liking to strawberry jam and it remained his favorite treat even though L wouldn't go near it._

_Not only that, but B had taken to following him. It was almost as if he were a shadow. It was highly unnerving. L had spoken to Watari many times about it over the years as it seemed to get worse with each passing season. Watari's only solution was to bring in more successors, however, the ones that were brought in were clearly below L and B and were more there to interact with B and get him away from L._

_It did not work as well as L had hoped._

_Now sixteen, L was anxiously waiting for his next birthday because once he hit seventeen he could leave Wammy's and thus B behind him. He was already the world's top detective, none matched his prowess, and already he had gone head to head against Eraldo Coil and had outsmarted him, taking the name for himself and thus becoming two of the top detectives of the time._

_He was in his study, preparing for his imminent departure when the door open and one of the younger successors came in crying. She noticed him and gasped._

_"I-I'm so sorry," she whimpered. "I d-didn't notice you were in here."_

_"…It's fine," L replied. "What happened?"_

_He didn't really care, but he'd rather not hear her wailing down the hallway because he was mean to her._

_"B isn't normal," the girl whined._

_L blinked. "How do you mean?"_

_"There was a little fawn outside and B said it was going to die in ten minutes and did, fell into the water and couldn't get out," the girl explained shakily._

_"And this happened in ten minutes?" L asked._

_"Uh-huh…he counted down and everything," the girl sobbed._

_L pondered this. The logical explanation was that B calculated the deer's path that it had been traveling. He probably measured the speed of its walk to the distance from the water and thus figured the time the deer had before reaching the water. But how would he know that it would slip in? Well it did rain last night, so the bank would be slippery, but the chances of the deer falling in where still low, he'd place it at about twenty percent, if that. _

_"Go find Roger," L said and the girl nodded and left, still sobbing. _

_L was going to pass it off as luck and just store the information away in case such a thing happened again when he remembered something. A's death…what B had started to say… "A doesn't--" no, it was impossible…but he was still curious about it and so he got up from his chair and made his way to B's room. _

_He did not knock, he simply entered and closed the door behind him. B was sitting on the floor, his hand covered in jam, the jar set off to the side. L regarded him coolly and B stared up at him and smiled._

_"Usually I'm the one who goes to visit you," he said simply before bringing his hands to his lips and licking jam from his fingers._

_"Can't you at least use a spoon?" L asked in disgust._

_"I don't bug you about your habits," B replied simply._

_L only frowned as B dipped his hand into the jam before standing up, sucking at his fingers before turning to face L, taking his hand away from his mouth and holding it out to L._

_"Want some?"_

_"…No," L replied coldly._

_"Not even a little?" B asked, clearly taunting him._

_"I didn't come here to talk about jam," L snapped._

_"Pity."_

_"I came to talk about the incident with the fawn," L said._

_"Oh that," B grinned. "Did I scare them?"_

_"Yes you did."_

_"Then they shouldn't be here," B replied. "Something that insignificant creeping them out."_

_L paused. Had B really been jealous of all these new faces? Somewhere along the line, he realized he had missed a transition in B. Maybe it was when he had started dressing up as L, but the dormant side of him, the darker side that fed his fierce tempers that often left holes in the wall where he punched them if he did not get his way, that side was becoming dominant in him. L had always known B was disturbed slightly, the dressing up was one indication, the way he stared above people's heads was another. However, B was smart, very smart, probably at L's level even and so he hadn't mentioned it to Watari or Roger. But now…he was beginning to think that he should have._

_"That girl said you predicted its exact time of death…that you counted down and everything. And before, four years ago when we were talking about A…you started to say something, but you changed the thought," L pointed out._

_"You actually spoke to the girl? You didn't send her immediately to Roger?" B asked quietly._

_"Yes I did, now please remain on the subject at hand," L frowned._

_B was silent before suddenly lashing out with his hands and grabbing L's wrists, pulling him forward._

_"What the hell are you doing?" L demanded._

_B looked up into his face and his eyes seemed to be glowing. "You don't need to speak to such trash," he whispered fervently. "I'm the only one close to you, they are worthless, they are nothing…and you know they are nothing. They cannot see…they do not know what I know," as he said this, his eyes focused on that spot over his head again._

_"They are here to stay, B," L replied coldly. "Let go of me."_

_B's expression turned almost desperate and instead of letting go his hold tightened painfully and he pulled L even closer. "No, no, no…you don't need them," he whispered quickly. "You just need me like I just need you…that's all."_

* * *

_L didn't see B after that. He had left Wammy's for good and at the age of twenty three took on a new case in Los Angeles. He was working with Naomi Misora, an FBI agent currently on suspension and he knew that he was working against B. B had been murdering people, but the method he used was a clear sign that it was him for the intelligence needed to solve his clues could only be found within L._

_It was B's final call for attention. L knew he'd been informed that three new successors had already been chosen over him. Near, Mello and Matt would be the ones he ultimately chose from. B hadn't been able to handle that. After he'd been told, he disappeared. L figured he would hear from him again at some point. B's philosophy had changed. He was determined to be better than L, to surpass him and the only way he could do that was being the ultimate criminal to L, to being the exact opposite of what L stood for._

_And so L had tracked him down in Los Angeles and with the help of Naomi they had figured out his game and put an end to it. B had tried to burn himself alive, to erase his features, to make L chase a phantom for ever while B laughed at him from hell. But Naomi had interrupted him and B had failed. He'd gone to prison and L hadn't heard from him since. Decided that he never would._

_Until that fateful day that he had actually gone outside and been reunited with his successor once more…_

* * *

Ryuuzaki snapped out of his reverie. Dawn was quickly approaching and somewhere out there, B waited and watched. He was planning Ryuuzaki's downfall, he was going to try and take his place. So far he was succeeding. Ryuuzaki was trapped in thoughts about B. And thoughts about B inevitably led back to when he'd been trapped under him, completely powerless as B effortlessly took him, claimed him as his own. The insanity that had just been breaking through out in full force now. His ardent desire to be better, to see the great L grovel to him overcoming any other actions.

And what was more, he wouldn't stop until Ryuuzaki was completely broken. He buried his forehead against his knees. How had this happened? Why did he let it happen? He should have prevented it. Why wasn't he strong enough to stop him? He was L, he was supposed to be higher than B, but B had turned the tables on him, made him realize that his position as the greatest was in jeopardy. He would strike again soon. Ryuuzaki knew that he was not satisfied.


End file.
